


drain you of your sanity (face the thing that should not be)

by blackrose1002, BlackVultures



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Bath Sex, Bathing/Washing, Bombs, Car Accidents, Choking, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, First Time, Fix-It, Floor Sex, Happy Ending, Hospitals, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mission Fic, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Praise Kink, Protectiveness, Riding, Rough Sex, Self-Esteem Issues, Shower Sex, Stabbing, Strength Kink, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:34:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose1002/pseuds/blackrose1002, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackVultures/pseuds/BlackVultures
Summary: Jack let out a very unmanly yelp and there was a thump that indicated he fell on his ass. “Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed, shuffling around before he wrenched open the suitcase.Mac squinted in the bright lights of the jet, blinking when he realized that the muzzle of Jack’s gun was about two inches away from his face. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Mac brought up one of his hands in a tiny wave. “Hey.”(AKA the one where Mac decides to stowaway in Jack's suitcase after he leaves to hunt Kovacs at the end of 3x14.)
Relationships: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is a fic I've been SUPER excited to post pretty much since we wrote it! The premise is exactly what I wrote at the end of the summary: Mac plays stowaway in Jack's suitcase at the end of 3x14, so this fic is canon divergent after that moment. ****A couple minor warnings, starting with the fact that the graphic violence takes place toward the climax of the fic and probably isn't any worse than the show, but I always tag for it. Any sex between Mac and Jack is 100% consensual even if it's kinky as hell. The threats of rape/non-con happen between Kovacs and Mac at around the same time as the violence, but throughout the fic there are actions between those two that could be considered dubious consent.**** I'll try to put specific warnings at the beginnings of the chapters, but in case I forget this is your blanket warning. As always we hope you enjoy this fic, and please let us know what you think of the first chapter!
> 
> (Title is from "The Thing That Should Not Be" by Metallica, because I had to.)

Angus MacGyver had endured months away from home, torture of all sorts, and the deaths of loved ones, but somehow none of that held a candle to watching Jack Dalton walk out the door of the war room and out of his life. It was like a hot, stabbing pain in his chest that only intensified the longer he stood there and did nothing, blinking away the tears in his eyes. Quickly he made a decision... a rash one, one that Jack would hate but hopefully there was enough left of their friendship to get him to forgive Mac.

He put on a mask for the others, but in his head the gears were already turning. The first thing he needed to do was get the hell out of the Phoenix without arousing suspicion. He took in a shaky breath and pushed the hair out of his eyes, discreetly looking around. Everyone looked miserable, even Matty, and Mac knew that what he was planning to do would be a shitty move, but... but he _had_ to do it.

“I need a minute.” Mac eventually broke the silence, and his voice actually cracked which might be a good thing if he wanted to sound convincing.

Bozer glanced at him, looking like a kicked puppy, and he took a step toward him. “Mac, maybe we should all head back to the house? I would be—”

“I’m... I need to be alone for a moment, okay?” Mac gently interjected. “Please, Boze.”

Something sad flickered in Bozer’s eyes but he nodded, moving away.

Mac glanced around at everybody one last time before he headed out of the room. Instead of lingering in the hall like they probably expected him to, he went straight for the elevator that would take him down to the parking garage. If he was going to make this work, he had one shot to execute his plan or Jack would throw a shitfit that would probably end in a fistfight. In the elevator he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He knew Jack said he couldn’t come, that it was above his pay grade to get him on the task force, but Mac couldn’t let him go alone—he wouldn’t.

Once the elevator stopped he rushed out of it... only to collide with the last person he expected. “Angus?” James frowned, steadying him with his hand when Mac almost fell down. “Where are you running to?”

Looking at his father, it didn’t take much for Mac to drum up those tears he was holding back a minute ago. “I just... I need some time alone,” he said, voice cracking. When James raised his eyebrows in confusion, he sniffled and elaborated, “Jack just left for the Kovacs mission. I’m going to go home and try and get my head on straight. Is that... is that okay, or did you need me for something?”

The look on his father’s face softened. “Yeah, of course it’s okay,” he said, reaching out to squeeze Mac’s shoulder. “Call me if you need anything, alright?” Sniffling again, Mac nodded and started walking again, but he only managed to take a few steps when his dad’s voice stopped him. “Actually, Angus...” When Mac turned to face him, James looked at him thoughtfully, his head tilted to the side. “Why don’t you take some time off? Like you said, to get your head on straight.”

Mac nodded, his hair falling into his eyes again. “Okay, I’ll... I’ll let you know when I’m ready to come back,” he said, and then walked off before his father could continue the conversation.

As soon as he was out of James’s sight he hustled faster, hoping like hell he hadn’t lost his opportunity—but no, the GTO was still there and Mac breathed a sigh of relief. He spotted Jack talking into his cellphone nearby and his heart lurched, but he didn’t let himself get distracted. He made a beeline for the GTO’s trunk, which was where Jack always stowed his bag... and the lid had a loose latch.

Suddenly Jack turned a little and Mac ducked behind the car at the very last second. His heart pounded wildly, but thankfully after a few seconds Jack turned away again and Mac knew that this was the only chance he was going to get. Deciding to worry about the consequences later—pretty much as always—Mac made sure Jack was looking the other way... before climbing inside the trunk.

It smelled like dirty gym clothes, gun oil, and exhaust, but the important thing was Jack got a large suitcase and his duffle bag inside it. He debated staying outside the luggage, but realized that Jack would see him as soon as he arrived at the airport, so he popped open the suitcase. Taking a deep breath - because this was pretty crazy, even for him - he moved some of Jack’s clothes to the duffle bag before he climbed inside the suitcase, closing it on top of himself. It was uncomfortable, but he was pretty flexible, so he shifted until his back wasn’t killing him and closed his eyes. He was actually questioning his sanity, but he didn’t have any other choice and he hoped... he just hoped Jack wouldn’t hate him.

A moment later he heard the car door slam shut and then Jack started the engine and drove out of the garage. Mac knew how much time it took to get to the airport from the Phoenix, so he could pretty much guess when they were getting close and that was when Mac saw a big flaw in his plan—what if Jack was flying commercial to meet his strike team and they were headed to LAX instead of the private airport they usually used? Mac would never make it past security and his plan would not only fail, but he and Jack would get arrested.

Before Mac could panic more he forced himself to focus, thinking about the turns Jack took after leaving the garage... and his heart calmed down a little, because now he was 99% sure they didn’t drive to LAX. His suspicion was confirmed a moment later when he recognized the pattern of speed bumps on the way into the private airstrip. He shifted again, trying not to let the pieces of Jack’s rifle bruise his ribs, and then the car’s engine shut off. The driver’s door slammed and Jack’s footsteps came around the car.

Jack paused at the trunk and heaved a sigh. “I’m gonna miss you, girl,” he said, patting the trunk lid before he opened it. “But don’t worry, I’m sure Mac will take good care of you.”

A hysterical chuckle threatened to escape Mac’s throat, so he bit the inside of his cheek to stay quiet. He heard some shuffling and guessed Jack grabbed his bag first and then suddenly he was moving, his world spinning as Jack hauled the suitcase out of the car as well, huffing loudly. Mac held his breath, but it didn’t seem Jack’s questioning the weight of his suitcase, and then Mac felt himself being carried, probably toward the plane.

It must have been the Phoenix jet—Mac wondered how Jack convinced Matty to let him borrow it— because he heard Jack greet the pilots by name. A moment later Jack set his suitcase on the floor in the corner where they always put their bigger bags, and now... now Mac needed to wait until they were up in the air and Jack couldn’t send him away before revealing himself. Or maybe if the flight was short he would wait until they reached their destination, just to be safe.

~***~

There were two problems with waiting, Mac realized quickly. The first was that the longer he was confined in the suitcase the hotter it got, and the second was a lack of fresh air. He felt it when they took off, shifting his weight with the movements of the plane as sweat dripped down his temples and his back. When he started wheezing, vision going gray at the edges, they’d been in the air for about an hour according to his phone—and if he didn’t get out of the suitcase soon Jack would find his corpse when they reached their destination.

There were no other people on the plane to see movement—Jack must be planning to meet his strike team later—so Mac risked reaching for the latch on the suitcase, intending to crack it open just a little... but it wouldn’t budge from the inside. He wasn’t even surprised, that was just his luck, helpful as always. He tried a few more times, but it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to open the suitcase and get out of it by himself. He sighed quietly because now the only way to get out was to alert Jack to his presence and Mac was a little scared of how that was going to go. Hoping he didn’t give Jack a heart attack, he started rocking inside the suitcase, slowly increasing the speed... and then the suitcase fell over on its side with a loud sound echoing inside the jet.

He heard Jack jump in his seat and curse, a vigorous game of Angry Birds no doubt interrupted. “What the hell?” he wondered aloud, and if the situation weren’t so dire Mac might’ve laughed. Footsteps approached, Jack’s boots heavy on the jet’s carpet, and the crisp material of his uniform crackled when he crouched down to inspect his suitcase. He rapped on the outside lightly with his knuckles, almost like a knock, and said dubiously, “If I’m bein’ haunted this is a weird fucking way to do it.”

Mac rolled his eyes and for a moment he considered replying, but his voice would be muffled by the suitcase and all the shit inside... plus he figured that maybe freaking Jack out a little would make him less furious later. Slowly, he lifted his hand and tapped the inside of the suitcase, loud enough to be heard, replying to Jack’s knock.

Jack let out a very unmanly yelp and there was a thump that indicated he fell on his ass. “Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed, shuffling around before he wrenched open the suitcase.

Mac squinted in the bright lights of the jet, blinking when he realized that the muzzle of Jack’s gun was about two inches away from his face. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Mac brought up one of his hands in a tiny wave. “Hey.”

Jack’s eyes were huge and he looked like he’d seen a ghost, and Mac didn’t even dare to move. “Mac?” Jack eventually asked, staring at him like he wasn’t sure he was real, but then he put his gun away. “What the fuck, Mac?” he asked again, apparently getting over the shock because he sounded angry. “What the _fuck_ are you doin’ here?”

“I followed you,” Mac said, sitting up in the suitcase, his back and neck cracking audibly. Jack just stared at him, disbelief in his eyes, and Mac had to look away, swallowing hard. “I couldn’t... I know we’re not on the best terms right now, but I couldn’t just let you leave like that.”

“Well that’s too bad, because leavin’ is exactly what I’m doin’,” Jack snapped, his Texas drawl coming out more now that he was pissed. He stood up and turned, heading for the cockpit. “And you’re going straight back to LA as soon as I tell these fellas to turn us around.”

“No,” Mac protested, immediately jumping to his feet and wincing when more things cracked inside his body. He grabbed Jack’s arm and somehow didn’t flinch when Jack turned to look at him with angry, dark eyes, and suddenly Mac was reminded of the day they met for the first time. “Jack, if you turn the plane around Matty won’t let you use it again. And I’m not letting you—”

“Shut up, Mac,” Jack growled, cutting him off and yanking his arm out of Mac’s grip. “You’re goin’ back. I’m gonna tell the pilots to land at the nearest airport and you either head home on your own, or I’ll fucking ship you with FedEx if I have to.”

Mac danced around Jack as he took his next step, blocking his route to the cockpit with his body. “Jack, please,” he said, his voice cracking just like it did with his dad. Jack got right up in his face—again, reminiscent of their first meeting—but all Mac did was put his hands on Jack’s shoulders, something he wouldn’t have dared to do back then. “I’m worried, okay? I’m scared shitless that something’s going to happen to you because I’m not there to watch your back. And...” He blinked hard, fresh tears burning his eyes even as he tried to will them back. “And I know you might not want to be around me anymore, but I don’t care. I just need you to be safe.”

Something crumpled in Jack’s face and his expression turned pained, but also confused. “What? Why wouldn’t I want to be around you anymore?” he asked, frowning a little before shaking his head as if he tried not to get distracted. “Mac, I’ve been doing this since before you could walk.” That wasn’t entirely true since Jack’s eighteen years older than Mac, but Mac figured it wasn’t important right now. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe and having you with me only means I’ll have to keep you safe too.” He took a deep breath before his eyes got colder and something... dangerous flashed in them. “This isn’t like our Phoenix missions. This is gonna be cruel and lethal, and that ain’t a place for a nerdy kid like you.”

Mac felt anger flare in his belly at that “nerdy kid” comment, but he forced himself to ignore it. “I know you’re only trying to push me away, Jack, and it’s not gonna work,” he countered, digging his fingertips into the camouflage of Jack’s uniform. “I’m capable of defending myself, you know that, and I get that you want to protect me—”

“No, I _need_ to protect you,” Jack interrupted, something desperate creeping into his voice. His hands had curled into fists at his sides but now they went slack, and he shut his eyes briefly. “Mac, I wasn’t lying when I said Kovacs is the worst of the worst—and once he knows I’m coming for him, he’ll use anyone and anything at his disposal to try and stop me. Including you.”

“Then it’s even better that I’m here with you!” Mac said, his voice getting a little louder. “That way he won’t get to use me against you like he could if I were all alone in Los Angeles, without anyone to protect me.” Mac didn’t like painting himself as a damsel in distress, but if it made Jack stop fighting with him then he’d survive. “Besides, it’s not like you’re going after him alone. You’ve got your entire strike team behind you, Kovacs doesn’t stand a chance against that.”

Jack went completely still, and then he suddenly... deflated, his chest-out posture gone, some of his weight now propped up by Mac’s hands. “I... I have to tell you something,” he whispered, gaze aimed down at the floor, where the toes of their boots were pressed together. “There is no strike team. I made it up. The CIA approached me and only me to go after Kovacs—they thought a team would draw too much attention, and I’m the only person who’s tangled with him once and lived to talk about it.”

Mac went cold all over. “What?” he breathed out, and let go of Jack’s shoulders, gently pushing him back so that he didn’t fall. “So you... lied to me? To all of us?” He ignored the pang of hurt in his chest and looked away from Jack, trying to wrap his mind around this. “So what, you we’re gonna go after him alone?” he asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. “After saying how dangerous that guy is, how many people he killed, you were going to hunt him on your fucking own?”

He heard shifting, like Jack was rubbing his face with his hand. “Mac, I... I didn’t want anybody else to get hurt,” he said, the words wavering and thin. “And Matty and your old man just sort of... _presumed_ there would be a strike team, so I let them think that.” He went quiet for a moment and then sighed. “Besides, it’s kinda what I deserve, don’t you think? Clearly I managed to fuck up our friendship and hurt you, which is something I swore I’d never do... so I guess it’s fitting.”

“So you figured you’d get yourself killed to make it even?” Mac snapped, his voice breaking, and he blinked rapidly, not wanting to tear up like a baby. “Fantastic plan, Jack, definitely one of your better ones.” He took a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes, but he was still so angry that he wasn’t really hearing everything Jack said, the words not registering in his brain. “That’s so fucking selfish, Jack.”

Jack took in a shaky breath. “You’re right, it is,” he replied quietly, and it almost sounded like—was he _crying_? Mac glanced at him and was stunned to see tears spilling down Jack’s cheeks. “But that’s all I am when it comes down to it, right? Selfish? I couldn’t let go of my old man, held on to Diane and Riley so tight that I pushed them away, and then... then I kept tryin’ to insert myself into your life when you clearly just wanted me to get the hell out. And I don’t blame you, not at all, but I thought maybe I could do this one good thing.”

Seeing the tears on Jack’s face made Mac’s anger fade a bit and now that he replayed their conversation in his head... he realized Jack said a few disturbing things. “What?” he said, and his feet carried him closer to Jack on their own. “When did I- I never wanted you to get out of my life, Jack,” he said, swallowing hard because the idea of living without Jack... it was unbearable. “Where are you getting this-” he started, but then he abruptly stopped talking and cursed himself. “Is this about Nigeria?”

Jack swallowed hard and looked away from Mac, using his sleeve to wipe the tears off his cheeks, but as soon as he blinked his face was wet again. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he admitted, and Mac’s throat constricted. “You... I get that you needed space from your old man, I really do, but... I thought you’d let me come with you, or at least tell me where you were going. Then when you didn’t I said to myself, well, at least I can call you or something... but you never picked up, and I kinda lost my mind a little.” He sniffled and put on a self-deprecating smile, studying the stitching on the jet’s seats. “But that’s not your problem, Mac. Not your fault I got too attached to you.”

Mac rubbed his face with his hands and pushed the hair out of his eyes, his breathing starting to get a little uneven. The conversation took a turn Mac didn’t expect, but... but it was probably something they should have talked about a long time ago. “And you say you fucked up our friendship,” he whispered, his hands starting to tremble, “when it’s clearly me who fucked everything up.” He bit the inside of his cheek and looked away for a moment, trying to figure out a way to make it right between them without revealing his true feelings for Jack. “I... I handled it badly and I hurt you. I’ll never be able to apologize enough for that.”

It was Jack who took a step closer this time, reaching out to grasp Mac’s elbow. “Hey, you’re not the only one who handled shit badly,” he said, taking another one of those shuddering breaths that Mac hated hearing. “After you came back, I thought you wanted distance, so I... I pushed you away. That handshake back there just about broke my damn heart, but I didn’t think you’d want anything else from me.”

Jack’s grip on him was gentle and his hand felt warm through the material of Mac’s shirt, and Mac kind of never wanted Jack to let go. “All I wanted from you was you telling me you’ve decided to stay, or that I could go with you,” Mac said quietly, looking up into Jack’s eyes that were brighter than usual because of the tears. They were quiet for a moment and then Mac swallowed and looked away again. “Are you really going to force me to leave?” he asked in a whisper, all anger and fight draining out of him.

Jack hung his head, eyebrows drawing together and making a divot in his forehead. “I don’t want you to leave,” he said, a fine tremor to his voice that Mac had never heard before. “If I’m bein’ honest, I’m... I’m scared, Mac. Kovacs is one of the worst people I’ve ever tangled with, and I thought I put him down once.” He squeezed Mac’s arm before he let go, almost like he didn’t want to stop touching him. “If you really wanna be here, I know I’m not gonna be able to stop you, so... no, I’m not gonna FedEx you back home. But I’ve got two requirements, and they’re non-negotiable.” When Mac made a curious sound, Jack continued, “First one is that if I tell you to do something, you do it—no questions, no hesitation. Second thing is, you’ve gotta tell the others where you went before we go dark, dude. It’s only fair.”

Mac winced a little. “I’ll call the team, yeah,” he said, already imagining that conversation. “Otherwise they’d probably organize a search mission.” He took a deep breath, wiping his cheek when he realized at some point a tear rolled down from his eye. “And I will follow your lead,” he said because Jack was right earlier when he said this wasn’t like their Phoenix missions—and Jack had way more experience than Mac and Mac trusted him. “But if you tell me to leave while you do something dumb, like sacrificing yourself or something, I’m not gonna do it.”

Jack cracked a smile when he heard that, and that instantly made Mac feel a little better. “Well, I can’t fault you for that, since I’d do the same thing.”

He went over to the big screen at the back of the jet and made a call to the war room, which Matty answered a moment later. “Dalton? Why are you calling me? Is everything—” She cut off when she saw Mac, her expression going as dumbfounded as Mac’s ever seen it. “MacGyver? What the hell are you doing on Dalton’s flight to Berlin?”

“What?” Another voice sounded from somewhere in the back, and a moment later his father appeared in front of the screen, his eyes widening comically. “Angus?”

“Yeah, hi?” Mac said, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m—”

“What the hell, Mac?” Matty interjected before shifting her gaze to Jack and narrowing her eyes. “Is there any reason you took him with you without telling me?”

“Whoa, easy, boss lady,” Jack immediately said, raising his hands. “I found out about this an hour into my flight. He popped out of my suitcase... literally.”

James squinted at them and snapped his fingers in realization. “That’s why you were in such a hurry to get out to the garage,” he said. “I thought when you said you wanted time off you meant to get yourself together, not go on a dangerous mission with Dalton and his strike team.”

“About that,” Mac said, glancing at Jack when he sighed. “There is no strike team.”

“Excuse me?” Matty asked, looking at Jack again while James just stared at them with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah, the CIA kind of... approached just me?” Jack said, actually stepping closer to Mac as if he was afraid Matty would jump out of the screen to hurt him. “It was supposed to be a solo mission... until I found a stowaway in my luggage.”

James continued staring for a moment before he shook his head. “Jack, you didn’t have to do this,” he pointed out, looking worried. “If you wanted a strike team and didn’t get one, you could’ve turned them down. And Angus... I know there’s no way to talk you out of this, but... be careful, okay? And for Christ’s sake, don’t go dark. We’ll help you however we can—the CIA doesn’t have to know.”

If he was being honest, a part of Mac expected he would be yelled at, so he was glad that wasn’t happening. He looked at Jack questioningly, leaving the decision to him since it was his mission and he did mention going dark before. “I have to do this,” Jack said quietly. “Kovacs needs to be stopped. And I... we’ll keep you updated when we can. But I can’t drag you all into this as well.”

“Understandable,” Matty said. “I can’t say I’m not concerned, but I know if anybody can take this bastard down, it’s the two of you. Let us know what you need and we’ll make it happen.”

They ended the call, and Mac felt some of the tension drain from his body. He shots Jack a little smile. “Were you really hiding behind me just now? Does Matty scare you that much?”

“Excuse me, I wasn’t hiding—” Jack started, but Mac just gave him a pointed look and he shut up. “Okay, fine, you know she can be scary!”

“Mhmm, yes, especially back in LA through a video call,” Mac teased, and his heart fluttered when Jack actually chuckled. “Jack, look, I’m...” he started, wringing his fingers. “I’m sorry. I haven’t said that yet, but... I really am. For everything.”

Jack smiled at him in that way that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. “It’s okay, hoss. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.” He opened his arms and it would take a much stronger man than Mac to not step into them, hugging Jack tightly. “How about we talk about our problems like adults from now on, huh?”

“Yeah, that... that sounds good,” Mac murmured, and it took all of his willpower not to nuzzle Jack’s neck. Instead he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the familiar smell of leather and gunpowder, and he suddenly realized that he couldn’t remember the last time they hugged. Reluctantly he pulled back a moment later, immediately missing Jack’s warmth. “So... why Berlin?” he asked, needing a distraction. “Any leads there, or did the CIA told you to go there?”

“CIA says their latest intelligence puts Kovacs in Berlin meeting with a Chinese arms dealer,” Jack said as he kicked his suitcase closed. They walked back over to the seats and took a load off across from each other, just like they always did. “Not sure why, but I doubt it’s anything good. And the last thing we want is somebody like Kovacs getting ahold of a ton of guns or worse. I’m thinking the first meeting was to test the waters, and there will be a second one for the actual exchange. I’ve got a contact in the city that might be able to tell us where.”

Mac almost asked Jack how he planned to take out Kovacs, his men, _and_ a Chinese arms dealer with his buddies completely on his own, but he didn’t. They finally seemed to be doing better, just like before the Nigeria fiasco, and Mac didn’t want to jeopardize that. “Alright, so we meet up with him and then crash the party?”

“Yeah, that’s about the size of it,” Jack replied, and he slipped a hand into one of his pockets, coming out with a paperclip that he held out to Mac. “I’m hoping that it’ll go smoothly, but you know how this shit usually works out.”

“Terribly?” Mac said, raising an eyebrow and taking the paperclip, feeling lighter than he had in months. “Well, at least I’ll be around to blow things up if you need it.”

“Yeah, you will,” Jack said, his voice going softer, and Mac looked up from the paperclip and swore that he saw... a different than normal kind of warmth in Jack’s eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone.

Mac just smiled and continues bending the paperclip... until he realized it was slowly becoming a shape of the Delta insignia. Once it was done he handed it back to Jack, smiling sheepishly. “I guess I’ll need to stop at the airport and buy some stuff. The only things I have with me are my knife and my phone.”

“And your wallet, I hope,” Jack said wryly, and he looked so _happy_ now that Mac wondered how he didn’t notice he wasn’t sooner. “Better not be expecting me to pay for all that.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but he also couldn’t hold back a smile. “Yes, I do have my wallet,” he said, and while it was entirely possible Jack was happy because he didn’t have to do it alone, Mac was secretly letting himself believe that it was because of _him_.

“I still can’t believe you actually crawled into my suitcase,” Jack suddenly said, shaking his head and laughing a little. “How did you fit in there?”

“Took out some of your clothes and stuffed them in the duffle bag,” Mac replied, shifting in his seat. Their boots knocked together and Jack didn’t pull away, even when it meant that their knees touched. “Had to move your rifle around a little, but I made it work. Until I started to run out of air, anyway.”

“You woulda been screwed if I’d stuck it in the overhead bin,” Jack pointed out, and that was... something Mac didn’t consider. “I’ll have to shoot Desi a text, tell her I don’t need a replacement after all... although maybe Matty wants an extra hand since we’re both gone.”

“In my defense, you never put your suitcase up there,” Mac said, although he had to admit he got lucky here. He winced a little and smiled sheepishly. “And I may have forgotten about you finding your replacement... sorry about that. Who is she anyway?”

“Name’s Desiree Nguyen,” Jack said, taking out his phone and tapping at it, bringing up a picture of a smiling woman in desert fatigues, holding a rifle. “She’s one of the first female Ranger grads—I helped train her, she’s really good at her job.”

Mac looked at the picture and smiled a little. “I bet she is. And I’m sure I would’ve liked working with her, but... I couldn’t just let you go alone.”

“I... I get that,” Jack said with a sigh, putting the phone away. “I know I reacted... strongly when I found you here, but I get where you were coming from.” Another sigh and a smile that made Mac’s knees go weak. “Let’s be honest, if you pulled a stunt like that... I probably would’ve done somethin’ stupid as well.”

“Yeah, and you wouldn’t have let me chase you off either,” Mac said, and he rolled his eyes when Jack suddenly looked ashamed, no doubt remembering what he said to Mac to try and get him to leave. “Jack, it’s fine. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been called a nerd? Besides, I know you were just trying to protect me.”

“Doesn’t matter how many times it’s happened, it ain’t right,” Jack muttered, looking like he would love to murder everyone who ever called Mac a nerd in a bad way. “I’m really sorry about that, I... hurting you even more to make you leave was a very dumb idea.” He leaned closer and Mac found himself staring into those dark gorgeous eyes. “I also didn’t mean to imply you weren’t... I don’t know, tough or competent enough for this mission. There’s no one else I’d rather have here with me.”

Mac felt a smile break out on his face, a real one that showed all his teeth and his dimples. He ducked his head to try and hide the blush on his cheeks. “Thank you, Jack. Coming from you, that means a lot. And for the record... I’m sure Desi’s great and I love the rest of the team, but there’s nobody else I’d rather have back me up besides you.”

They grinned at each other like idiots for a moment before Jack cleared his throat, shaking his head a little. “I don’t mean to be a bad host since you’re technically on my flight, but if I don’t take a nap, I’m gonna be dead once we land,” he said, before he winced a little. “I kinda... I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Mac made a sympathetic noise and slumped in his seat. “Understandable. Let’s see if we can grab some sleep, huh?”

Jack shot him a grateful smile, and they both closed their eyes—for about half a minute, until they hit turbulence. “Jesus Christ!” Jack yelped, grabbing onto his armrest with one hand while the other reached for Mac, grabbing his leg to make sure he was steady.

Mac had to suppress a shudder because Jack’s hand was heavy and warm on his leg, gripping it tightly, and a part of him started imagining how it would feel to have this hand touch other parts of his body. He quickly pushed that thought away and reached out to squeeze Jack’s forearm. “Easy, Jack, it’s just turbulence,” he said soothingly, but Jack still seemed shaken up which was weird because he never used to be bothered by turbulence. “You okay?”

Jack stayed tense for a moment, the look in his eyes wild, and then he seemed to shake himself out of it. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, releasing his death grip on Mac’s leg after a moment’s delay. “It’s just... back when I was hunting down Kovacs the first time, one of the many ways he tried to kill me was by firing a missile at my plane.”

Mac felt his eyes widen and he stared at Jack for a few seconds. “Shit,” he eventually said, very eloquently. “That guy isn’t messing around, is he?”

“Nope,” Jack said, audibly popping the “p” sound. “He really didn’t want to go down and he had lots of resources to hunt us—well, me mostly—back.” A sigh. “But we did find him then and... well, I have no idea how he walked out of what went down alive.”

“You shot him, right?” Mac asked, raising an eyebrow. When Jack just nodded, he continued, “Could he have used a body double?”

Jack’s eyes went wide and he cursed. “Fuck me, I never even thought of that,” he said, rubbing a hand across his jaw. “He _is_ the kind of psycho who’d probably have a bunch of people runnin’ around that look exactly like him in case somebody decides to take him out.”

“So that’s a possibility,” Mac said, and then chewed on his lower lip because what he was about to say was very unlikely, but he had to ask. “Or... is there a chance you maybe... missed?” he asked, and the sharp glare Jack threw him didn’t scare him, not at all... it actually turned him on, god, what was wrong with him? 

“I don’t miss, Mac. Especially when it matters.”

Mac gave himself a mental head slap and discreetly crossed his legs, hoping to ward off an impending ill-timed erection. “So this time we’ll have to make sure we’re up close and personal,” he mused, running an absent hand through his hair. A thought occurred to him... one Jack’s definitely wasn’t going to like. “What, um, what does he... like? In people, I mean. Is he straight, gay...?”

“Swings both ways as far as I know,” Jack said, his gaze turning normal again, although there was something dangerous in his eyes, but that was probably because they were talking about Kovacs. “When we were watching him he used to take someone home almost every night. Men, women, always much younger than him, usually blonde and gorgeous, way out of his league.”

“Well I don’t consider myself gorgeous, but I am blond,” Mac pointed out, and Jack’s face did something he’d never seen before, a weird spasm that made him think he was having a stroke.

“No, no fucking way,” Jack said, his tone venomous. “There’s no way I’m lettin’ you get that close to him, Mac. If he so much as smells something funky, you’re dead.”

“Yeah, but if he doesn’t it will give us a chance to get close to him and take him out when he doesn’t expect it,” Mac said, digging his fingers into his thighs. He wasn’t sure if he would even catch Kovacs’s eye, but it was worth a try. “If I... distract him then—”

“No way, Mac,” Jack interjected in a low voice, his eyes hard as steel. “We’re not doin’ that, so drop it.”

Mac wasn’t intimidated by Jack, not in the slightest—perpetually turned on, yes, but not intimidated. “But what if we don’t have a choice? You at least have to acknowledge that this plan with the Chinese arms dealer is shaky. What if your contact doesn’t know where the meeting’s happening?”

“Then we’ll figure something else out,” Jack said through his teeth, just like Mac would if their roles were reversed. “But I am not gonna have you play sacrificial lamb. It ain’t happening.”

“You make it sound like there’s no chance I’d be able to pull this off,” Mac argued, and even though he wasn’t looking forward to playing bait, he had to be rational here. “I’m not planning to sacrifice myself, Jack, I’m just trying to come up with more options here.”

“Yeah, well, come up with something else,” Jack snapped, and Mac noticed his hands were clenched in fists. “I’m not letting him touch you.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that—you aren’t _letting_ me do this?” Mac repeated incredulously, his voice ticking up a notch. They weren’t shouting, not yet, but it was a close thing. “I’m not a prop, Jack, you can’t just move me wherever—” He cut off as more turbulence rocked the plane, and Mac didn’t realize it but he was leaning forward enough that the movement all but threw him at Jack. Luckily Jack caught him before they both went tumbling to the floor, but the end result was that Mac was essentially in Jack’s lap while they blinked at each other in shock. Their faces were suddenly much closer than before and Mac’s brain went offline for a few seconds as he got lost in Jack’s eyes. “Sorry about that,” he eventually said, his voice dropping lower without his permission. Jack’s arms were wrapped around him and Mac kind of never wanted to move, but he knew he had to.

Jack seemed just as reluctant to let him go, which was... odd. “Don’t worry about it,” he muttered, smoothing out an invisible crease in the back of Mac’s shirt before he released him. They both leaned back in their seats for a moment before Jack spoke up, his voice oddly tentative: “Wanna put on _Die Hard_ or something? Might help us fall asleep.”

“Me maybe, but you? You’re gonna keep reciting all the lines backwards,” Mac teased after clearing his throat, and gave Jack a small smile. It seemed like they were done with the Kovacs conversation for now, but Mac’s sure it was going to come back sooner or later.

“You’d be surprised, it actually helps me fall asleep sometimes,” Jack replied with a shrug. “It’s... familiar.”

Mac’s smile widened. “I have lectures on biomechanical engineering from MIT that do the same thing,” he admitted, and something fond glittered in Jack’s eyes.

They settled in to watch the movie together in the back row of seats, and within the first twenty minutes of John McClane’s antics, Jack fell asleep with his head on Mac’s shoulder. Mac held his breath for a moment, but then he realized that Jack was out cold. He swallowed hard and slowly turned his head, closing his eyes and smiling when Jack’s hair tickled his nose. He knew he was being creepy, but... he’d loved Jack for so long and it wasn’t often that he got a chance to have him so close, so he enjoyed it while he could.

A few minutes later Jack shifted and Mac tensed, thinking he was waking up, but Jack only snuggled closer, making Mac’s heart flutter stupidly. He settled his cheek against Jack’s hair, smothering a giggle at the sensation that produced. It was much softer than it looked from afar, and soon he found himself drifting off. As much as he tried to stay awake, wanting to savor this moment with Jack, it didn’t happen—his eyes slipped shut and he fell asleep too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the sweet comments on this fic and the one Kaja just started posting! We really appreciate it! <3 I said I'd try to post warnings on each chapter, but I don't think this one has any? It's pretty tame... but it's the last one that's this way. ;)

As they got ready to leave the plane, Jack tried to focus and not think about the fact that not that long ago he woke up from his nap with his head on Mac’s shoulder. Even worse than that, they were actually _cuddling_ and Jack almost had a heart attack, but thankfully Mac didn’t seem to think it was weird. Another thing he still couldn’t wrap his mind around was that Mac was really _here_ in Berlin with him, joining him for the Kovacs mission.

After Mac stopped in the airport mall to buy a suitcase, some clothes, and toiletries, they left the airport in a nondescript rental car to their hotel, which Jack booked in advance under one of his many aliases. He thought he’d be by himself, of course, so he got a room with one bed. That was a little awkward, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. Which they were about to, because Jack just finished checking in and they were heading up in the elevator.

“So, did you already set up a meeting with your contact?” Mac asked as they walked down the hallway, searching for their room.

“Nah, I figured it would be best to do that once I’m already here,” Jack replied, stopping in front of the right door and discreetly took a deep breath before he opened it. They stepped inside and almost immediately Jack turned to face Mac. “Look, I was kinda planning to stay here by myself so...” He could tell when Mac got what he was talking about, his gaze shifting to the bed. “But there’s a couch, so I can sleep there, no problem.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Jack, how many times have we shared a bed or huddled together for warmth? It’s fine.” He dropped his bag next to Jack’s and flopped down on the bed, while Jack pulled a burner phone out of his duffle bag and turned it on.

He dialed Wallace’s number from memory, and the fence answered on the second ring. “Wallace, buddy, it’s Herman Bosley! I need to know when a meeting’s going down between an old friend of mine and what I’m hopin’ could be a new friend—there’s something in it for you if you give me some intel.”

“Cafe with the blue awning near the Wall Museum,” Wallace replied in his cigarette-rasped voice. “One hour from now.” Then he hung up.

“Charming guy,” Mac commented, and Jack had to turn his gaze away when he saw Mac sprawled on the bed like that. He was effortlessly gorgeous, no matter what he did, and after what happened on the plane—Mac landing in his lap, the nap—Jack couldn’t turn his damn horny and besotted brain off. “So, Herman Bosley?” Mac asked. “What’s your cover?”

“Good ol’ Hermie likes to make money selling ammunition,” Jack said, effecting a much more pronounced southern drawl than he actually had. “Along anything else that tickles his fancy. And if there’s a meeting going down between Kovacs and Han today, Wallace is sure to know about it.” Without a second thought Jack started stripping out of his uniform, digging some jeans and a t-shirt out of his luggage.

He thought he heard Mac make some kind of sound, but when he turned to look at him Mac was searching for something on his phone. Feeling Jack’s gaze on him, Mac glanced up and raised his eyebrow. “What?” Jack just shook his head, figuring he was just hearing things and went back to changing, and he was putting a t-shirt on when Mac spoke again. “Why did you even put that uniform on in the first place?” he asked, sounding amused. “You literally wore it only during the flight.”

Jack felt his cheeks burn a little with embarrassment. “I thought it made it more official that I was leavin’, you know? Plus I wasn’t totally sure if Matty would let me use the Phoenix jet or if I’d have to get a military transport.” He pulled his handgun and holster out of the duffle bag, securing it in the small of his back after he checked the load. “Now if you wanna tag along to see Wallace that’s cool, but you gotta take a table nearby and pretend we don’t know each other.” He reached into his bag again and pulled out a couple of comms, holding one out to Mac. “That okay with you?”

“Yeah, of course,” Mac said, grabbing the comm and sticking it in his ear. “Let me guess, Herman is a lone wolf?”

“Somethin’ like that, yeah,” Jack said with a nod, putting on his leather jacket to cover his gun. “Just like I used to be... before I started workin’ with you.”

Mac smiled at him, one of those slow ones that showed his dimples and made his eyes light up. “What is it you like to say? Even a lone wolf needs a pack?” He bounced up off the bed—Jack envied that, the bad vertebrae in his back twinging in envy—and thumped Jack in the shoulder. “Let’s get there early, just in case.”

“Someone’s excited,” Jack teased, and got another punch in his shoulder as a reward.

“Shut up,” Mac said with a grin, patting his pockets and probably checking if his knife was there. “I just...” he started, and then bit his lower lip which was the hottest and the most adorable thing at the same time. “I’m happy. That I get to do this with you after all and that you didn’t FedEx me back home.”

Jack rolled his eyes as they headed out of the room and to the elevator. “We both know I wasn’t actually gonna FedEx you—and how would that even work, anyway? Would I cut air holes in the box before or after I knocked your ass out?”

“I don’t know, I hadn’t gotten into the logistics,” Mac said, chuckling a little.

They walked through the lobby and out into the chilly February air... and suddenly Jack was aware why Mac bought a hat and a scarf. He was glad his leather jacket was warm enough for this kind of weather and he put his hands inside the pockets to keep them warm. They didn’t talk much on the way to the cafe, except for Jack’s directions since he’d been to Berlin a few times before and knew his way around. After telling Mac where to go they split up before they reached the cafe, so they didn’t arrive together in case Wallace was watching the place.

Jack sincerely doubted that he was, as paranoid as Wallace could be, that really wasn’t his style. He took a table near the back and told the waitress in flawless German that he was waiting for someone, but he’d take a coffee and a slice of chocolate cake. It wasn’t health food, but that wasn’t what Herman liked to eat. He glanced up when the bell above the door rings but it was just Mac, who took off his hat and shook out his hair, sticking the hat in the pocket of his coat as he took a seat at the counter. He tried not to look at him too much, but he couldn’t help but stare a little. He saw Mac order something—a coffee probably—before he brushed the hair behind his ear... subtly turning on his comm.

Jack did the same thing and leaned back in his chair to make himself more comfortable. “Someone brushed up on their German,” he murmured when he heard Mac thanking the waiter.

“It’s not all that different from Spanish,” Mac said under his breath, taking a sip from the mug that the waiter gave him. “You think Wallace will show up early too?”

As if on cue the bell above the door rang again, but to Jack’s horror, the man who walked through it wasn’t Wallace.

It was Kovacs.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath, and leaned back even more in his chair. Thankfully the cafe was dark and he was seated way in the back, so there was no chance Kovacs could spot him. He saw him glance around, hands in his pockets... and then he zeroed in on Mac. “Mac, we’ve got a huge problem,” Jack hissed into his comm. He knew Mac saw Kovacs, but since he suggested that crazy plan back on the plane he wasn’t sure if Mac would listen when he added, “Get the hell out of here, _now_.”

“Too late,” Mac mumbled, and as much as Jack hated it he knew he was right. If Mac ran away now, it was going to look awfully weird, and there was nothing that said Kovacs wouldn’t just order one of his goons to snatch Mac off the street.

“Hello there,” Kovacs said to Mac, his English flawless despite his obvious Eastern European accent. His hand was on the back of the chair next to Mac’s, ready to pull it out. “Mind if I join you? It’s awfully crowded.”

Mac looked up from his coffee and stared at Kovacs for a second before nodding. “Sure, why not,” he replied with a polite smile.

Jack could only see the side of Kovacs’s face and he felt sick when he saw him grin. “An American?” he asked, taking a seat and turning a little to face Mac. “What brings you to Berlin?”

Mac sighed, wrapping long fingers around his mug and waiting to respond until Kovacs had ordered his own drink... and from the sounds of things, a plate of pastries for them to share. “This was actually supposed to be a vacation with my boyfriend,” he said, and Jack almost choked on his coffee—was Mac playing into Kovacs’s hand, or was he actually into guys? “But he broke up with me about a week ago... I was gonna propose when we got here, obviously _that_ didn’t happen.”

“Oh no,” Kovacs said, his voice all soft and sympathetic, and Jack felt like screaming. Whether Mac was actually into guys or just playing, the break up story was clearly a way to paint himself as a poor guy in need of comforting which was something Kovacs would surely eat up, and Jack had a very bad feeling about this. “I’m surprised you’re not drinking anything stronger.”

Mac looked up from his coffee mug, blinking those gorgeous blue eyes and smiling a little. “Good point,” he said. “But I didn’t feel like drinking alone.”

“Mhmm, understandable,” Kovacs said, winking at Mac in a way that made Jack want to puke up the cake he just ate. “But you aren’t alone anymore, are you?”

“Another good point,” Mac commented, his smile widening, and he flagged down the waiter for a couple shots of whiskey to add to the coffee. Then he stuck out his hand for Kovacs to shake. “I’m Angus.”

Kovacs took his hand and shook it, holding it way too long for Jack’s liking. “I’m Tiberius,” he said in a low voice, and while Jack was a little surprised he used his real name, he supposed it made sense, it wasn’t like he had to hide at a random Berlin cafe. “Pleasure to meet you, Angus,” he murmured, and Jack barely stopped himself from doing... something. So far Mac was doing great—the kid was way better at undercover work than most people think—but that didn’t mean Jack liked the way Kovacs was looking at him. A moment later the waiter brought them the whiskey and Kovacs handed one glass to Mac while taking one for himself. “To... new beginnings,” he said, raising the glass in a toast.

Mac clinked his glass against Kovacs’s, and they dumped the alcohol in the coffee, both of them taking sips. “So what do you do for a living, Tiberius?”

“I’m a salesman,” Kovacs replied, casual as anything. “Insurance. Nothing interesting.”

At this point Wallace walked through the door. He didn’t garner any attention from Kovacs, thankfully, and Jack waved him down while keeping an eye on Kovacs and Mac. “Herman,” Wallace muttered, taking a seat at Jack’s table, looking as awful as Jack remembered. In his ear he heard Mac and Kovacs talking about insurance—thank god Mac could talk about anything—but Jack still felt like everything was about to go to hell. “Long time no see,” Wallace continued. “Can’t say I missed you.”

“Feeling’s mutual, bud,” Jack said, trying his damnedest to pretend he cared what Wallace had to say now that Kovacs was right in front of him—but this wasn’t the time nor place to attack, even if he wanted to get him the hell away from Mac as fast as he could. He reached into the pocket of his coat and took out a clip of Euros, holding them out under the table to Wallace. “Half now, half when you tell me where I can find an arms deal happening tonight between a Hungarian and a Chinese fella.”

Wallace grabby fingers grabbed the money and he quickly glanced under the table before an ugly smile appeared on his face. “Well, there’s been some chatter, a few rumors here and there,” he started, and Jack wished he would just hurry up so that Jack could go back to focusing on Mac full time. “That there’s a deal going down in Oberschöneweide. There’s a warehouse that’s on sale and has been abandoned ever since the owners moved their business out.”

“Oh yeah? And how sure are you that this deal is the one I’m looking for?” Jack asked, tuning back into Mac’s conversation for a moment. He was talking about going to MIT, telling a story about how he accidentally started a chemistry lab on fire, and Kovacs appeared to be amused.

“Ninety percent,” Wallace told him, which for Wallace was pretty damn good. “I could also tell you the time this deal is expected to take place... for the right price, of course.”

Jack eyed him for a moment before forcing himself to grin, slowly reaching into his pocket. “Wallace, you know I always deliver,” he muttered, showing him more money, but taking it away when Wallace reached out. “Nah, my friend, not so fast. You talk first, money later.” He heard Kovacs laugh at a joke Mac made and he barely managed not to break something.

“Fine, fine,” Wallace griped, baring his teeth a little. “Supposed to happen around one in the morning... although if the Hungarian you’re thinking of is the one talking to that blond piece of ass over there, it might be later.”

Jack all but snarled as he shoved the money at Wallace, a vein in his temple throbbing. “Get outta here yesterday.”

Wallace grabbed the money and leaves, thankfully quietly and without drawing anyone’s attention. Jack took a deep breath to calm himself and make his racing heart slow down, but it was all in vain because when he looked up he saw that Kovacs was sitting much closer to Mac than he was before. He had his arm on the back of Mac’s chair and the grin on his face... it made chills go down Jack’s spine.

Mac finished another MIT story and then he ducked his head, smiling sheepishly, and goddammit, he knew exactly how to work that boyish charm of his. “I’m sorry, I’ve... I’ve been talking non-stop, you must be bored out of your mind.”

“Oh, not at all,” Kovacs assured, draining the dregs of his spiked coffee. He watched the way Mac reached for the last pastry like a shark might watch a fish feed. “On the contrary—and at the risk of being too forward—I find you quite captivating.” He hailed their waiter for the check and waved away Mac’s protest. “Nonsense, it’s my treat—I asked to join you, after all.” He paused, and Jack’s heart was pounding hard. “You could pay me back by indulging me in a walk through the park.”

Mac bit his lower lip and glanced away for a second, looking adorable and most likely like a snack to Kovacs. “Mac, no,” Jack whispered urgently, gripping the edge of the table tightly. “This is too dangerous, I won’t be able to—”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Mac said, giving Kovacs another one of those cute little smiles, and Jack cursed under his breath.

He sank in his chair again when Mac and Kovacs stood up and got dressed, and he was trying to figure out what to do and not to panic. He could track Mac’s phone with his own, and he could tail them too, but it’d have to be a distance. Their comms should work fine so that wasn’t an issue, and as much as it killed him, Jack forced himself to count to fifty before he got up and left the cafe after Kovacs and Mac do. He turned up the collar of his jacket and stole a hat off a guy sleeping on a bench, pulling it down low over his face. He caught a glimpse of Mac’s dark blue coat and Kovacs’s tall frame heading into the park and followed them, staying about fifty yards back and doing his best to stroll casually. This would be much easier if Kovacs didn’t know how he looked, but unfortunately he was sure Kovacs never forgot his face.

“So, Angus,” Kovacs started, and Jack hated the way he said Mac’s name and how close to him he walked. “How long are you in Berlin?”

“Another week,” Mac replied, pulling his knit hat down over his hair again before he shoved his hands in his pockets. “What about you? Do you live here?”

“No, I’m here for work,” Kovacs told him, and Jack almost giggled hysterically because that was technically true. “Originally I’m from Budapest. Have you ever been to Hungary? It is not generally on a tourist’s itinerary, but it is truly a wonderful country.”

“I haven’t, no,” Mac said, shaking his head, and that was a big fat lie because he and Jack almost blew up half of Budapest once, but Kovacs didn’t need to know that. “It’s actually my first time in Europe, never been that far from home before.” Even though Jack couldn’t see Kovacs that well, he swore his eyes lit up—Mac was really selling that poor lost boy act right now. “Actually, I’m thinking of not returning to the US right away... it’s not like have anyone waiting for me after that mess with my boyfriend.”

“Then perhaps I could act as your informal tour guide,” Kovacs suggested, and he sounded so casual, but Jack heard an undercurrent of desire in the words that made him want to shoot him right this second, the public and police be damned. They were following the green walking paths along the Mühlenstraße, and Jack remembered belatedly that there was a hotel not far from there—was that where Kovacs is staying? Or did he presume it was where Mac came from?

“That would be... nice, thank you,” Mac said, breaking Jack out of his racing thoughts. They’d stopped walking, forcing Jack to duck behind a tree to avoid being seen. He saw Mac though, and he was twisting the ends of his scarf between his fingers and chewing on his lower lip. “But I was sort of thinking... maybe you’d be interested in more than showing me around?”

He looked so damn cute and innocent, and Jack panicking even more now because Kovacs took a step closer to Mac and Jack saw the smirk on his face. “Interesting offer,” he said, his voice dropping lower, and while he wasn’t touching Mac, Jack could tell he was itching to get his hands on him. “What exactly did you have in mind, Angus?”

Mac smiled up at Kovacs, and his hands dropped from the fringe of his scarf to touch the lapels of Kovacs’s coat lightly, like he wasn’t sure he was allowed. Jack’s stomach lurched painfully and he wanted to say something, anything, but his voice wouldn’t work, he couldn’t get the breath to speak because jealousy and disgust were warring inside him. “Something like this?” Mac said, his voice full of suggestion... and then he leaned in and kissed Kovacs on the lips.

Jack barely stifled a pained whimper, feeling like someone just shot him in the gut—hell, scratch that, whenever he got shot in the gut it was way less painful than this. He heard Kovacs’s sharp intake of breath and then saw him place his hands on Mac’s hips, tugging him even closer. Jack hung on to the tree he was hiding behind for support, but also for restraint, because there was a part of him that wanted to run over there and rip Mac away from Kovacs before he slit his lying terrorist throat.

Thankfully the kiss didn’t last for too long, and Mac stepped back with a teasing grin on his flushed face. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that tour guide proposition after all,” he said, and pulled out his phone, holding it out to Kovacs. “Give me your number?”

Jack could barely hear what was happening because of the fog clouding his mind, but he did his best to focus. He wasn’t sure what Mac was doing, but what matters the most right now was that he stepped back and put some distance between Kovacs and himself. Kovacs, who eyed Mac for a few seconds before he took his phone with a wide grin on his face. “You’re playing hard to get, Angus. I like it.” He typed his number into Mac’s phone before handing it back. “You’re lucky I find you utterly fascinating.”

Instead of responding verbally, Mac sent Kovacs a text, and whatever it said must be funny because it made the fucking madman _laugh_. “I’ll call you,” Mac said, twiddling his fingers in a little wave before doubling back down the path, heading back toward the cafe.

And to Jack’s utter amazement, Kovacs didn’t follow him... but he did watch his ass until the nighttime shadows obscured it. Once that happened Kovacs continued down the path toward the hotels and the city center, and as much as Jack’s fingers itched to break his neck he knew it wouldn’t be that simple and this wasn’t the moment. Jack breathed easier now that Kovacs was nowhere near Mac and he made sure Kovacs was long gone before following Mac. The kid was in for quite a lecture when Jack got to him and it was probably because of all the emotions he felt that Jack moved faster than he usually would and he quickly caught up with Mac.

He grabbed his arm from behind and Mac must have expected it because he didn’t fight when Jack pushed him against the nearest tree. “What the hell were you thinkin’?”

Mac’s eyes widened a little and Jack absently realized he used his scary secret agent voice just now without meaning to. “I was thinking that we had an unprecedented opportunity,” he said after a moment’s delay, swallowing hard and tilting his chin up in defiance. “I couldn’t exactly run out of the cafe with no explanation, and the last thing we needed was for him to see you hiding in the corner.”

“That’s not what I’m talkin’ about and you know it,” Jack growled, pushing Mac more against the tree without realizing it at first. “I’m talkin’ about all the flirtin’ and smilin’, and worst of all, fucking kissing the madman!” He was absently aware of his Texas drawl getting stronger like it usually did when he was angry. “Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous that was?”

Mac glanced around, probably looking for other people to make sure nobody was paying attention to them, but right now Jack didn’t give a shit about that. “I know it was dangerous, Jack, but it got him talking, didn’t it?” he countered, and he didn’t push against Jack’s grip or fight him at all, just looked him in the eye with an earnest expression. “Besides, I got his phone number—that means we can track his GPS without him knowing about it.”

Jack deflated a little, bowing his head and leaning more against Mac’s body. The adrenaline was slowly wearing off and he wasn’t as furious as before—mostly because Mac wasn’t fighting back and fueling his rage—and his anger was replaced by exhaustion and jealousy, again. “I was so worried about you,” he said quietly, not even caring that his voice cracked a little.

To Jack’s surprise, the expression on Mac’s face turned sympathetic. “I know,” he whispered, and pulled Jack in for a hug. It was different from the one on the plane, more... intimate, somehow, mostly because Jack buried his face in Mac’s neck (well, his scarf) without conscious thought. “It’s okay, Jack,” he murmured, arms wrapped around Jack’s waist, right above the butt of his gun. “I’m right here.”

Mac’s scarf smelled like sunshine even though he bought it earlier today, and Jack couldn’t get enough. He knew he was probably being weird, but he couldn’t make himself pull back, closing his eyes and slowly calming down. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his words muffled a little. “I just... seeing you so close him...” He exhaled shakily. “It was killin’ me.”

Mac held him a little tighter, and he didn’t seem to mind the fact that Jack was all but crushing his ribs. “Can I ask...” he started, but trailed off, evidently not knowing how to phrase what he wanted to say. He took a moment before he tried again. “Why did it bother you so much to see me with him? And don’t say it’s because he’s dangerous, Jack, we’ve covered that already.”

Jack went completely still and tense, his heart dropping because... it wasn’t like he couldn’t tell Mac it was because he was in love with him and he was _jealous_ of a fucking _terrorist_. “But it was because he’s dangerous,” Jack said, because it was the truth and now he just needed to convince Mac it was the only reason. “I was worried he’d realize somethin’ was wrong and that he’d hurt you.”

He felt Mac nod a little. “I get that, Jack, I do,” he said softly, and it was in that moment that Jack realized Mac’s hands were trembling against his back, and it had nothing to do with the temperature. “But from the way you were talking and how you shoved me up against a tree just now, I thought maybe...” He trailed off again, this time on a sigh that sounded almost wistful, and he started to pull away. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

The way Mac said that sounded... off to Jack’s ears and he tightened his hold on him, not letting him go. “What’s stupid?” he asked, his face still pressed into Mac’s scarf, because it almost sounded like... but Jack didn’t want to get his hopes up. “You thought that maybe... what?”

Mac released a shaky breath, fingers smoothing over the leather of Jack’s jacket. “I thought maybe you had feelings for me, okay?” he admitted in a whisper, and Jack’s whole world tilted on its axis. “I thought maybe you weren’t just being protective because you’re my friend, but because you were jealous. And like I said, it’s stupid, so... so just let me go, Jack, and we’ll forget this ever happened.” Then, so low Jack almost didn’t hear it: “Please don’t hate me.”

Those four quiet words were enough to make Jack lift his head and look into Mac’s eyes that were so sad Jack’s heart broke. “I could never hate you,” he murmured, holding Mac close, and he took a deep breath. “And now that we got that out of the way... what if I said you were right?” he asked quietly, and Mac’s eyes widened. “If I said that I was jealous, that I still am? That he got to touch you like that and I never... that I didn’t?”

Mac stared at him for a moment, those gorgeous blue eyes shocked. “Then I’d say you have nothing to be jealous of, because I love you so much that I can barely think sometimes... and you can absolutely touch me like that.”

And that was all the permission Jack needed to move his hands to frame Mac’s face and pull him in for a kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thank you for all the lovely comments on the previous chapter, as well as the birthday wishes many of you left me on Tumblr! <3 Nothing to warn about in this chapter except fluffy first time porn... which is the only remotely fluffy porn you'll be getting in this one. ;)

Mac’s arms tightened around Jack’s waist and he kissed back, pressing himself impossibly closer. The kiss was soft and slow, and so much better than Jack could ever imagine, and a part of him was sure he must be dreaming. Their lips kept parting and meeting again, and Jack gasped when Mac’s tongue licked over his lower lip, slipping into his mouth when Jack let him deepen the kiss. He pushed Mac back against the tree once more, their tongues sliding together as he used Mac’s body to brace his weight.

One of Jack’s thighs pressed between Mac’s instinctively and he groaned when Mac parted his legs and rocked himself lightly against solid muscle. He let his fingers trail up into Mac’s hair, whimpering when he realized it was just as soft as he always thought it would be. Mac made a soft sound in the back of his throat, almost like a moan, and he dug his fingers into Jack’s back, his leather jacket creaking a little.

A moment later his hands went around and slid up Jack’s chest, eventually framing his face and gently pulling him back. “Jack, are you okay?” he asked in a whisper when Jack whined quietly and tried to chase his lips. “Jack.”

Jack rested their foreheads together and squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a long breath and trying not to let it out as a sob. “Please tell me this is real,” he said, voice cracking audibly, but he was too emotional to care. “Because I’ve had so many dreams like this and one more might kill me.”

“It’s real,” Mac whispered, and Jack felt his fingers brush over his stubble. “Jack, look at me?” he asked softly, and Jack forced himself to open his eyes and found himself staring into two blue oceans. Mac smiled softly and slid one hand lower until he could press his thumb against Jack’s lower lip and rub it gently. “It’s real,” he repeated. “I promise.”

Jack felt his whole body relax... but then he remembered where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. “Shit, we should go back to the hotel,” he said, kissing Mac’s palm before he stepped back and took his hand in his own, something giddy bubbling inside him when Mac squeezed his fingers. “I know you were pretty focused on Kovacs, but did you hear anything Wallace said?”

“Yeah, something about a warehouse?” Mac said, and they started walking toward their hotel, taking a shortcut Jack knew. “That the meeting is at one in the morning.” He let out a snort, shaking his head a little. “And he called me a blond piece of ass.”

Jack scowled and tightened his grip on Mac’s hand without realizing it. “Yeah, that might’ve put me in a worse mood than I was in already.”

Mac laughed a little and they walked into the hotel lobby. “So that means we’ve got about... what, seven hours before the meeting?” He hesitated before he said the next part. “Do you want to try and take him down there, or have me call him?”

Jack felt himself scowl again as they stepped into the tiny elevator. “The last thing I want is you callin’ him, or ever seein’ him again,” he muttered, glaring at the closing door. “Besides, he might get suspicious if you call him so soon after ditchin’ him.” He sighed. “But I’m also not sure how to take him down during the meeting. I mean, he’s gonna have his goons there, right? And the Chinese fella probably won’t be by himself either.”

Mac tilted his head in consideration. “Probably not,” he agreed as they rode up to their floor. “I can make some kind of explosive as a distraction, maybe take out some of the guards at the same time... but ideally we want some confirmation that he’s actually Kovacs before we make a move and not another body double.” He made a face, nose scrunching up. “That requires fingerprints or DNA.” He had that look on his face that he always got when he was thinking, and while it made him even more gorgeous, Jack had a bad feeling about it. He tugged him toward their room and opened the door and it wasn’t until Mac sat down on the bed that he spoke again. “Well, there’s only one way to get that.”

“No way in hell—” Jack started.

“I have to get myself invited into his room,” Mac finished like he hadn’t spoken.

Yep, Jack was right to worry about Mac’s plan. He sat down next to him on the bed, shedding his jacket while he did so. Then he sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, dropping his head into his hands. “Mac... I’m trying my damnedest to be rational here, but even though I can see the merit in gettin’ his DNA... there _has_ to be another way besides you being alone with him where I can’t help you.”

“You’d be nearby, right?” Mac said, reaching out to grab his hand and squeezing his fingers. “I mean... Jack, we can take him out, no problem,” he started, and Jack couldn’t wrap his mind around how easy it was for Mac to talk about killing someone. “But what if it’s not really him? He looks like Kovacs, but...”

“But if he not Kovacs we’re back in the same situation I was in before, thinking he’s dead when he’s actually not,” Jack finished, shaking his head a little. He sat up and touches Mac’s face with his free fingers, thumb rubbing over his cheekbone. “I just can’t stand the idea of him hurtin’ you. And believe me, if he thinks you’re up to something, he will.”

“I know, Jack,” Mac murmured, turning his head to kiss his fingers, and Jack’s heart did a funny jump in his chest. “But... I can defend myself if I’ll have to. And I know it doesn’t mean anything, but it didn’t seem like he suspected I wasn’t just a tourist.”

“It really didn’t,” Jack agreed, sliding a little closer, tucking a piece of Mac’s hair behind his ear. “I always knew you were good at undercover work, but... how did you sell that?”

“I pretended he was you,” Mac admitted, glancing down at their joined hands where they rested on his thigh. “And the only reason I’m good at undercover work is because of you, by the way.”

Jack couldn’t help but smile a little. “Nah, I just gave you a few pointers, that’s it.”

“Are you crazy?” Mac asked, raising his eyebrow. “You taught me everything there is about being undercover and... about the whole spy thing really.”

Jack had to kiss him after that and he leaned in to press their lips together. “You’re making me sound better than I actually am.”

Mac smiled against his mouth, his hands moving to hold Jack’s face. “No, I’m just being honest.” He kissed Jack again, nails scratching lightly through his stubble, and it was easily the best kiss Jack’s ever had. When he pulled back there was something dark in his eyes. “We don’t need to head to the warehouse just yet,” he said, leaning in to nip at Jack’s lower lip. “So if you’re interested... I think we could find a way to pass the time.”

Jack was pretty sure if his heart kept racing like that it was eventually going to jump out of his chest. “Oh yeah?” he murmured, nuzzling Mac’s cheek and wrapping one arm around his waist to pull him closer. “Like what?”

Mac grinned at him and tipped them backward onto the mattress, rolling so he was on top of Jack, forearms braced on either side of his head. “I have a few ideas,” he murmured, and then he leaned down to kiss Jack again.

His mouth was absolutely sinful, warm and plush, and Jack opened up for him as soon as his tongue swiped across his bottom lip. He moaned when Mac licked into his mouth and deepened the kiss, and he wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him tightly. A part of him wanted to keep touching him, explore now that he was allowed to, but he needed to just... hold Mac for a moment, feel that weight on top of him to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Mac kissed him like he never wanted to stop, his body moved with the kiss, and eventually Jack let his hands roam until one of them slid lower to grope Mac’s perfect ass.

Mac groaned a little and pushes into the touch, sucking on Jack’s tongue before he bit at his lower lip. It felt so good, and Jack spread his legs to accommodate Mac’s weight, which had the added benefit of pressing certain parts of their bodies together. Mac’s hands slid down to caress Jack’s arms, one gripping at his thigh to hitch it over his hip. That was more than fine with Jack and he used his leg to bring Mac closer, both of them groaning when their dicks pressed together through their jeans.

Mac’s lips were still on Jack’s, his tongue exploring his mouth, and Jack couldn’t help but roll his hips up, seeking friction. He moved his hands to tug on Mac’s shirt and yank it out of his jeans, sliding both hands under the material and pressing them against Mac’s smooth warm skin. It was free of imperfections save for a few scars down near his lower back. He felt Mac’s hands on him and then he pulled at Jack’s t-shirt, trying to get it off. They finally broke apart, both gasping for air, and then they pulled off their respective shirts. Then Jack grabbed Mac around the waist and rolled them so he was on top, smiling wolfishly before he mouthed at his jaw.

“N-no v-visible marks,” Mac gasped when Jack bit him a bit harder, about to start sucking a bruise into his neck. “J-just in case.”

He immediately knew what Mac’s talking about—in case he had to meet up with Kovacs later, he shouldn’t have any hickeys—so he pulled back and pressed a trail of kisses to his skin instead until he found his way back to his lips. “You have any idea how long I’ve been dreaming about doin’ this?” he murmured, panting against Mac’s mouth. “How hard it’s been to keep my hands off you?”

A little smile graced Mac’s lips, and he ran his hand up Jack’s back, fingertips combing through his short hair. “If it feels anything like me trying to keep my hands off you, then yes, I know exactly how hard it is.” He pulled Jack down for another kiss, his other hand wandering lower until it gripped Jack’s ass through his jeans. Then he broke away, just as breathless as Jack, and said, “You should take off your pants now.”

“Gladly,” Jack murmured with a grin, but before he could open his jeans Mac’s fingers were already on it, unbuckling his belt and slowly unzipping them, driving him insane. “Oh, Jesus,” Jack gasped when Mac’s hand slid into his pants, rubbing his cock through his underwear.

He kept it up for a moment before slipping one finger into his boxer briefs and teasingly running it up and down Jack’s cock, smirking when Jack moaned softly. “You’re so big,” Mac basically purred, biting at Jack’s lower lip again. “Please tell me you wanna fuck me.”

Jack groaned wantonly and didn’t care how desperate he seemed, rutting into Mac’s hand like a teenager. “God yes,” he replied, wriggling out of his pants and boots before his fingers went to work on Mac’s belt. Soon they were both down to underwear and trading frantic, messy kisses, hands groping and touching everything. Jack had one hand inside Mac’s boxer-briefs, teasing at his hole with dry fingers. “You got supplies?”

“Me? I didn’t even have luggage until a few hours ago,” Mac panted, hooking his leg over Jack’s hip and rolling them on their sides, pressing himself closer and nipping on Jack’s throat. His hips kept twitching, pushing back against Jack’s fingers, and he was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever seen.

“You got lucky then,” Jack murmured, groaning when Mac sucked a bruise into his pulse point. “I’ve got lube. And condoms.”

“Don’t need the condoms,” Mac told him, and Jack’s brain melted in his head. “Had my physical last month, and I bet they made you get one before you accepted the Kovacs mission.” He laid back on the bed and grinned widely when Jack didn’t say a word. “Did I render Jack Dalton speechless? That must be a first.”

“Shut up,” Jack mumbled, but there was no heat behind it, and he gave Mac a smacking kiss to the cheek before he got up to dig around in his bag for the lube. He found it exactly where he put it along with the condoms before leaving his apartment, so he grabbed it and quickly got back on the mattress. He crawled on top of Mac and kissed him again, lifting his hips when he felt Mac’s fingers slip under the waistband of his underwear, tugging it down. Once it was gone Jack pushed down Mac’s boxer briefs until he kicked them down, their lips still glued together as they kissed hungrily.

“So,” Mac said breathlessly, breaking the kiss and grinning up at him. “You brought lube and condoms on what was supposed to be a solo assignment? Were you planning using sex to gather intel?”

Jack winced, realizing how it must look. “I’ve done it before,” he admitted, and Mac’s face turned serious in an instant, his fingers massaging at the back of Jack’s neck. “Only when there was no other way... but carrying the stuff around kinda became a habit after a while.”

“Hey,” Mac said softly, and Jack’s gaze snapped back to him from where it had wandered. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Jack. I hate that you had to do that when you didn’t want to, but I understand why it was necessary. I’m not going to judge you.”

Jack stared down at him for a moment before he leaned down to press their lips together. “I love you so much,” he murmured, his lips brushing against Mac’s when he spoke. “I don’t think I’ve actually said that earlier.” He pulled back a little, but Mac’s arms didn’t let him go too far, wrapping around his back and holding him close. “I can’t believe that you’re not bothered by... that. By the things I’ve done.”

Mac’s eyes searched his face, and whatever he saw makes him smile. “Jack, you wouldn’t be the person you are now without the things you’ve done,” he said, and from the tone of his voice that was a _good_ thing, which was hard for Jack to wrap his head around. He pulled him down for another kiss. “I love you too... but if you don’t start doing something I might lose my mind.”

Jack let out a startled laugh and kissed him again before pulling back with a smirk. “Someone’s impatient,” he teased, laughing again when Mac smacked his shoulder. “Okay, okay,” he said, reaching out to grab the lube.

He poured some on his fingers and warmed it up a little before moving his hand between Mac’s legs and pressing one finger against Mac’s entrance. Mac pulled him close and shuddered when Jack kissed across his jaw, relaxing into the pressure of his finger and sighing once it was inside him. He wrapped a leg around Jack’s waist to achieve a better angle and the next sound he let out was a moan when he felt Jack moving his finger in and out of his body.

He was tight and hot around that single digit and Jack buried his face in Mac’s neck, groaning when he thought about how he would feel around his cock. He tried to remember not to bite down on Mac’s neck and instead nipped on his collarbone, adding a second finger when Mac moaned again. He scissored his fingers and pushed in deeper, searching for his prostate and finding it a moment later, causing Mac to cry out when his fingers brushed over the spot.

“So beautiful,” Jack murmured, kissing the side of Mac’s neck and moving to his throat when Mac threw his head back.

Mac was breathing harshly, his fingernails raking over Jack’s back, and his hips rocked down against Jack’s fingers as he stretched him. He let out another moan when Jack slipped a third finger inside his body, pumping them in and out a little faster, a little harder. “Jack, please,” Mac all but whimpered, grinding against Jack’s fingers when they hit his prostate again. “Please fuck me.”

Jack exhaled shakily because hearing Mac say his name and beg like that... it did something to him. “Fuck, you have no idea how many times I’ve imagined you saying that,” he whispered, nuzzling Mac’s cheek and removing his fingers. He grabbed the lube again, but he faltered a little and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m... this morning I said goodbye to you and I thought I lost you,” he said quietly. “And now here we are.”

Mac put his hand on the back of Jack’s neck and just... held him for a moment, their foreheads pressed together. “I can’t say you’ll never lose me, because that would be making a promise I can’t keep,” he whispered. “But I can promise you’ll never lose me without a fight. And there was no way I would let you do this on your own.”

“I love you,” Jack whispered, kissing Mac after he murmured the words back.

Swallowing hard, he grabbed the lube again and a moment later he positioned himself between Mac’s legs and lined up against his entrance. He glanced up to check if Mac’s okay, but his dark eyes and the way he clung to him are all the answer he needed, so he slowly started pushing in. Jack let out a long, low groan as he was enveloped by that wonderful tight heat, each inch better than the last. He forced himself to go slow, gasping when his hips were finally flush against Mac’s and doing everything in his power not to move.

He wanted to thrust forward, wanted to take and take until he found release... but that might hurt Mac, which he refused to do. “Are you okay?” he asked breathlessly against Mac’s throat.

Mac nodded frantically before he whispered, “I’m fine, Jack, I’m... I’m great.” He ran his hands up and down Jack back for a moment before wrapping his arms tightly around him and hooking his leg over his hip again. “You... you can move. Please.”

Jack pulled back a little bit and pushed forward again, causing both of them to moan with how good it felt. His next thrust was less tentative, and soon he set up a steady rhythm, seeking out Mac’s prostate. He knew he found it when Mac cried out a broken version of his name, and he made it his mission to find that spot every single time he thrusted into Mac’s body.

“You feel so good, baby,” Jack mumbled into Mac’s neck before moving lower to bite down on his shoulder. Mac was gasping underneath him, fingernails digging into his back hard enough to leave marks, but Jack didn’t mind. He continued thrusting into him, panting against Mac’s skin and doing his best not to get carried away.

“J-Jack,” Mac moaned, arching off the mattress when Jack’s hips pushed a little harder. “H-harder, please.”

“Fuck,” Jack mumbled, because hearing Mac talk that way at all, let alone because of _him_ , did things to him that he could only translate into a faster, rougher pace.

He slammed his hips forward as requested and got rewarded with Mac letting out a series of little cries next to his ear, clenching down on Jack’s cock beautifully every time. Jack braced his weight on one forearm and pushed his other arm under Mac’s back to hug him closer. The tight heat around his cock was almost too overwhelming, but it also felt so good and Jack never wanted it to end. He kept the pace rough and fast, pounding into Mac and getting lost in the sounds he made and how he cried out his name.

“Jack, I’m... I’m so close,” Mac gasped out, grasping at Jack’s shoulders, his ass, the backs of his thighs. “I’m gonna—” And then his whole body went taut like a bowstring, back arching as he let out a cry of pleasure, coming untouched all over his stomach. Jack fucked him through it, slowing the intensity a little, but when he went to pull out Mac’s hands stopped him. “Don’t... I want you to come inside me.”

Jack groaned loudly and he probably should ask Mac if he was sure, but he was too far gone and he just buried his face in Mac’s neck and continues thrusting into him, going back to the brutal pace from before. Mac gasped softly with every slam of Jack’s hips, his body going boneless, and the fact that he was letting Jack fuck him like that only spurred him on. He was still hot and tight and it only took a few more of these rough thrusts for Jack to come, letting out a loud moan and biting down on Mac’s shoulder as he filled him up.

Mac held him through it, and when Jack’s hips finally stilled they just laid there like that for a moment, both of them trying to catch their breath. “That... was incredible,” Mac murmured, his hand smoothing up and down Jack’s spine. “You okay?”

“Mhmm, yeah,” Jack mumbled, his face mashed into Mac’s shoulder. Once he felt like he could breathe he lifted his head to look down at Mac who looked absolutely gorgeous with his messy hair on the pillow and soft blue eyes. “What about you, baby? You good?”

Mac grinned at him, utterly gorgeous and completely at ease. “Are you kidding me? That was the best sex I’ve ever had.” He hissed a little when Jack pulled out, but then made a contented noise when he rolled them over so Mac could sprawl on his chest. “Honestly, I’ve never even liked sex that much... but with you it’s different.”

Jack frowned a little as he wrapped his arms around Mac to pull him as close as he could. “How so?” he asked quietly, nuzzling Mac’s hair before kissing the top of his head.

“You know how... I’m not always that great with people?” Mac said slowly, like he was carefully choosing the words, and Jack nodded. “Well, I’m... being that close and... intimate with someone was always... hard for me. It never came easily and... I was not the biggest fan. But you... it’s not like that with you.”

Jack thought he understood, at least a little. “That makes sense,” he said, leaving his face where it was so he could breathe in Mac’s smell. It was much stronger from his hair than it was from the scarf, and Jack shifted them enough to grab the blankets and pull them up to their shoulders when he felt goosebumps break out on Mac’s skin. “And I’m glad that I’m not like everybody else for you. Because you’re... you’re amazing, Mac. The best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Of course you’re not like everybody else,” Mac said, nuzzling Jack’s chest and snuggling closer. “You’re... you’re the most important person in my life, you know? Which is one of the reasons I couldn’t let you hunt Kovacs alone... and why I still hate myself for hurting you so badly when I ran to Nigeria.”

“Hey, that’s water under the bridge,” Jack protested, kissing the top of Mac’s head again. “You don’t need to hate yourself for anything, least of all that.” He paused, a slow grin spreading on his face. “Besides, you could say we kissed and made up, right?”

Mac tilted his head to look at him, also grinning. “I guess so,” he said, shifting to press a kiss to Jack’s jaw. He lingered there for a moment before kissing Jack on the lips, one hand cupping his cheek, and he rubbed the skin with his thumb. Jack made a pleased sound and kissed back, sliding one hand to rest it on Mac’s ass.

When they broke apart Jack sighed. “We should probably take a shower,” he said, fingertips slipping into Mac’s ass crack, rubbing lightly over his hole that was sticky with Jack’s come. “Kovacs has his meeting in a few hours and if nothing else I’d like to find out what he’s buying from this Chinese dude.”

Mac shuddered on top of his, letting out a soft moan. “S-shower’s a good idea,” he said quietly, his voice shaking a little. “But we won’t get out of here in time if you keep doing this.”

Jack couldn’t help but grin, keeping his fingers exactly where they were. “Oh yeah? That bothers you?”

Mac leaned up and nipped at Jack’s jaw. “It doesn’t bother me, but it is gonna slow us down.” Unfortunately Jack knew he was right, so he moved around until he could pick Mac up, ignoring the protests of his back. “Jack! You... wow, that’s... kind of stupid hot.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Jack said with a grin and started walking toward the bathroom.

He let Mac go and they stepped into the small shower cabin and Jack turned the water on. They got a little... distracted, but they managed to take a relatively quick shower and while Jack would love nothing more than to drag Mac back to bed, he knew he couldn’t. They went back to the room and if Jack stared at Mac ass all the time, well, he couldn’t be blamed—plus he was pretty sure Mac was swaying his hips more on purpose.

“So...” Mac started as he pulled on his jeans. “What’s the plan? We’re heading to the warehouse, hide somewhere and just watch? No interaction?”

“I think so, unless the setup turns out to be different than what we’re expecting,” Jack said, referring to their conversation earlier about how Kovacs and the Chinese dealer will both bring men with them. “And I swear to god, if Wallace gave me bad intel about this meeting I’m gonna skin him alive.” He made sure he had a knife in one boot and a spare gun strapped to his ankle, and caught Mac staring at him. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just... you gearing up like that, that’s... very hot,” Mac muttered, his cheeks flushing red as soon as the words left his mouth. Jack smirked, but before he could reply, Mac was talking again. “Do you think I should turn my phone off?” he asked, and he must’ve seen Jack’s frown because he explained, “Kovacs has my number, so theoretically he could track me. Or maybe I should leave my phone turned on here?” He thought out loud. “It’s a hotel, so if he sees I’m here it shouldn’t be suspicious, right?”

“That’s a good point, leave it here,” Jack said, and Mac did exactly that, placing the device on the nightstand. Once that was done Jack waited until they were standing by the door before he pulled Mac close for a kiss on the lips. “Please stay with me, okay?” he requested quietly, holding both of Mac’s hands in his. “We can’t use the comms if you don’t have your phone, so I don’t wanna lose you if things get hectic.”

“Okay,” Mac said with a nod. “I won’t run off anywhere, I promise.” Jack gave him a small smile and let go of one of his hands, squeezing the other and tugging Mac out of the room. “Maybe it wasn’t such a great plan, getting Kovacs’s number,” Mac mused as they walked toward the elevators. “I mean, my phone’s compromised, maybe I should’ve—”

“Mac, hey,” Jack interjected. “It was a good call. Thanks to you we’ll be able to see if Kovacs is headed in the direction of the warehouse, or if I need to hunt Wallace down.”

Mac already texted him Kovacs’s number, so Jack inputted it into the GPS app on his phone, and they looked at his blinking dot on the map as they rode down in the elevator to the lobby. “Looks like he’s in the Oberschöneweide neighborhood, which is where Wallace said the meeting was happening.”

“Well, that’s good, it means his intel is fine,” Mac said, and they exited the elevator, quickly making their way through the lobby and getting outside. “Now the trick is to get there without being spotted by anyone.”

“Yeah, we especially can’t let Kovacs or any of his men see you in case you wanna go with that crazy plan of yours later,” Jack said, grumbling a little because he still hated the idea of Mac being alone with Kovacs.

~***~

They followed Kovacs’s GPS dot until they got to a street that was mostly warehouses—which was another point in Wallace’s favor. They wound up crouched behind a dumpster, watching a warehouse that looked like it’d been closed up for a while. Sure enough, about a half hour before Wallace said the meeting would happen, a couple of Chinese guys showed up to pry one of the doors open with a crowbar.

“Well, I guess we’ve got the right place,” Jack muttered, and he felt Mac exhale in relief behind him.

“It’s weird that a warehouse that’s technically on sale isn’t more secure,” Mac whispered, looking around and studying their surroundings. “At least an alarm would be nice, right?”

“True, but maybe the owners went bankrupt and can’t afford it. Probably why the meeting is happening here, easy access,” Jack replied, also glancing around and cataloguing any detail that might be useful from a strategic point of view. “Hey, Mac,” he murmured, grabbing his arm and gesturing at his phone—according to the GPS Kovacs was getting close to the warehouse... and a few seconds later they saw him approaching the building with six armed men following him.

That was the goon squad Jack had expected to see earlier but didn’t—then again, travelling with a pack of armed men tended to draw attention. “We need to get closer,” Mac whispered, breaking him out of his thoughts, and he was right. There was no way for them to hear or see anything of the meeting from their current position because it was all taking place inside the warehouse. “Maybe we could go around the back and see if there’s a window?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jack whispered back, and they quietly jogged around the warehouse, staying out of the lights and sneaking in the shadows.

Mac stayed close just like he promised, letting Jack go first, and once he was sure it was all clear they silently got closer to the wall and thankfully there was a window there just like they hoped. They wound up standing on either side of it and leaning in to sneak glances, and what Jack saw looked pretty straightforward at first. Kovacs and his Chinese contact, Han, were standing in the warehouse talking, their goons flanking them... but there were no crates, no boxes, nothing that looked like weapons.

“What the hell?” Jack muttered, and then he caught a glimpse of a shiny metal briefcase in the hand of one of Han’s guys. “Uh oh. Is it is just me or does that look like a bioweapon?”

“Could be,” Mac muttered. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. You don’t transport something nice and harmless in a briefcase like that.”

Jack nodded and glanced back through the window, trying to see as much as he could, and that was when he noticed another weird thing. “Where’s the money?” he asked quietly. “Kovacs doesn’t have a briefcase, neither do his man and I’m not seeing a laptop. Even if he could wire it through his phone, I doubt Han trusts him enough for anything but cash.”

At that moment, Han crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, shot in the head by a sniper somewhere in the warehouse, one that must’ve been set up long before Han’s goons pried open the front door. They tried to raise their guns to fire at Kovacs but were cut down immediately by his men, and once the chaos stopped Kovacs sent one of them over to retrieve the briefcase.

“They didn’t bring money because Kovacs never intended to pay them,” Mac said, eyes glittering in the dim light of the industrial park. “Question is, what was worth killing Han and his men for?”

“Like you said, baby, nothin’ good,” Jack muttered, the endearment slipping out without his control. He glanced at Mac who watched the inside of the warehouse with maybe not surprise in his eyes, but something similar. “I told you he was bad news,” Jack murmured, gently touching his arm. “He’s ruthless. That’s why I’m so worried about you getting too close to him.” Suddenly he saw Kovacs and his men moving in the direction of the door. “They’re leaving. We need to hide.”

Since Jack and Mac were scurrying from the opposite direction this time they couldn’t hide behind the dumpster without being seen, so they wound up climbing inside it. Luckily it wasn’t very full, and it was by far one of the cleanest dumpsters Jack had ever been in; he and Mac crouched inside it until they heard Kovacs and his men leave in their cars, and then for a couple minutes after that. Then Jack poked his head above the level of the dumpster and glanced around. When he didn’t see anyone, he motioned for Mac to stand and they clambered out.

“So what now?” Mac asked, running a hand through his hair. “We can’t just wait for Kovacs to use whatever he stole.”

“We need to take him out,” Jack said, and then sighed. “And I don’t mean take into custody. It’s... this mission’s always been about getting rid of him once and for all.”

“We also need to retrieve whatever was in that briefcase,” Mac added, nodding as if killing Kovacs was the most natural thing in the world. “Jack... I have to call him tomorrow. Or well, technically later today.”

To say Jack didn’t like it was an understatement, but he nodded all the same. “You’re right. Once it’s daylight you give him a call, tell him you wanna meet up for lunch... and have him pick the place since you’re not supposed to be familiar with Berlin.” He rubbed a hand over his face as they started walking back toward their hotel. “We’ll play it by ear, but the goal is to get a fingerprint or DNA so Riley can run it for us. Once we have confirmation that it’s him, I’ll take him down.”

Mac reached out and grabs Jack’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “Jack, I’ll be fine,” he said quietly, probably sensing Jack’s worry. “I’ll meet with him, we’re gonna talk for a while and you’re going to be right there.” He tugged a little until Jack looked at him and then he smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this chapter! It's almost all smut and that takes a while to get through. Also the tags for this fic just turned into a hot mess... but I'm not sorry about that. ;)

After they took a nap and got breakfast, Mac sat with Jack on the bed in their hotel room and stared down at his phone, which was displaying Kovacs’s number. He took a deep breath and hit the call button, and Kovacs picked up on the second ring. “Angus,” he said, sounding pleased, “I’m glad you called. How was your first night in Berlin?”

“Uneventful,” Mac replied, doing his best to sound like he maybe wished he had spent that night with Kovacs. “Nothing like my afternoon here, so I was wondering...” He bit his lip even though Kovacs couldn’t see him, but a little pause wouldn’t hurt. “Maybe you’d like to have lunch with me?” Mac felt Jack’s gaze on him but he forced himself not to look, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep up the ruse of wanting Kovacs.

After a moment of silence, Kovacs’s voice came over the speaker as practically a purr: “I would love that.”

“I’m not familiar with Berlin, as you know, so maybe you could pick a spot?” Mac suggested, picking at a frayed edge on his jeans.

“Of course, that’s no problem,” Kovacs said, and he actually seemed excited. “Which hotel are you staying at? I’ll pick you up at noon.”

In case Kovacs was tracking him he didn’t want to risk lying, so he told Kovacs the address, promising to meet him in the lobby. Once he hung up he released the breath he’d been holding and glanced at Jack who looked so worried that it broke Mac’s heart. “Hey,” he murmured, grabbing Jack’s hand. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Jack took that hand and brought it up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to Mac’s knuckles. “I love you so much,” he murmured, and Mac felt his cheeks heat up. “And the only reason I’m going along with this is because we don’t have another option... and also because I trust you and you’re a damn good field agent. Not sure if you learned all those tricks from me, but I was impressed.”

“I love you too,” Mac murmured, and shifted closer to Jack so that he could rest his head on his shoulder. “And I told you, I learned everything from you when it comes to the intelligence work. And...” He paused for a moment. “You’re the best agent at the Phoenix, Jack. So you saying I did well... it means a lot.”

Jack wrapped his arms around him and smacked a kiss to his temple. “Of course you did well, baby,” he said, and Mac shivered a little at the endearment.

“You know,” Mac said, tracing an absent pattern on Jack’s chest with his fingers, “I don’t have to meet Kovacs in the lobby for three hours. We could check out that big jetted tub in the bathroom.” He felt Jack look down at him, so he tilted his head to press a kiss to his jaw. He smiled at him when he pulled back, that wide smile he only ever smiled because of Jack, and then he shifted to straddle Jack’s legs. “I mean... unless you’re tired and you’d rather lie down?” he asked, nuzzling Jack’s stubble, unable to stop grinning. “We got in pretty late, so that would be understandable, I guess.”

Jack looped his arms around Mac’s waist in a different grip, and then he stood up carrying Mac like he did the night before. “I’m not _that_ much of an old man, I don’t need two naps in a day,” he grumbled, heading for the bathroom and biting Mac’s ear when he laughed too much. “You won’t think that’s funny when your back feels like mine does half the time.”

“Then stop carrying me around!” Mac exclaimed, still laughing, although he definitely meant what he said last night—Jack carrying him like that was _so_ hot.

Jack rolled his eyes and kissed Mac’s neck, making him shiver before he lowered him on the floor. “So,” he murmured as he started to unbutton Mac’s shirt. “Didn’t know you’re a bath person.”

“I’m really not, but slipping and banging your head in the shower isn’t sexy,” Mac replied, smiling when Jack nuzzled at his cheek, lightly kissing his way over his jaw. “And since I’d like to get you back inside me and we both still smell like that dumpster, this seemed like a plan.”

Jack groaned near his ear as he pushed Mac’s shirt off, yanking his own over his head a second later... and something hesitant appeared in his eyes. “Mac? What would you say if I told you... that I’d maybe like to... switch things around this time?”

Mac inhaled sharply and felt hot all over because he never even considered that option, assuming Jack was exclusively a top. But now that he knew Jack would want that, his dick twitched when he imagined getting inside Jack... even though he’d never done that with a guy before. Jack was waiting for a response, and Mac pulled him in for a kiss before he said, “Yeah, we can do that. But... I’ve never...” He bit his lower lip. “Whenever I’ve had sex with guys—which was like, twice before you—I’ve always been on the bottom. So... I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

“It ain’t that complicated,” Jack said softly, touching Mac’s cheek and rubbing the skin under his eye with his thumb. “Unless you don’t want to—”

“I want to,” Mac interjected, immediately blushing when he realized how eager he sounded. “I mean... I never imagined it because I assumed... but I _definitely_ want that.” He swallowed hard. “I just... I don’t wanna fuck it up.”

“You won’t, baby,” Jack murmured, kissing him on the mouth again. Then he reached for the front of Mac’s pants, thumbing open his button and pulling down the zipper. “You’ve got great instincts—wait a minute.” He pulled back a little to look Mac in the eyes. “What did you assume? That I wouldn’t want to switch?”

“I’m... yes?” Mac said quietly, looking away and to keep his hands busy he reached to turn on the water to fill the tub. Jack was still looking at him expectantly, though, and Mac sighed. “Well, first of all, I never actually thought you were anything but straight. But sometimes I would imagine... being with you and I figured that if you were into guys, you would prefer to be in control.” He rubbed Jack’s collarbone with his thumb, staring at it and avoiding Jack’s gaze. “And after last night I didn’t even... I didn’t even wonder, I just... assumed.”

Jack shuffled out of the rest of his clothes before he spoke again, evidently needing time to think about what he wanted to say. Once they were both naked he pulled Mac close by the shoulders, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Well, you were partly right. I like it, but normally I don’t trust anybody enough to give up control like that.” He leaned in and kissed Mac’s cheek. “But I trust you with everything.”

Mac’s breath hitched and he pulled back, searching Jack’s face for any tension or hesitation... and he found none. His heart fluttering, he kissed Jack again, running his hands up and down his sides before ending the kiss with a nip on his lower lip. “You know,” he started, slipping out of Jack’s grasp with a grin to slide into the bathtub. “I’ve never had sex in a bathtub before.”

Jack grinned back at him, climbing in and straddling Mac’s lap. It was... interesting to be looking up at Jack like that, but it certainly wasn’t bad. “Me neither,” he admitted, slipping his arms back around Mac’s neck. “But it feels pretty good so far.”

Then he dragged Mac in for a kiss, slipping his tongue between his lips almost immediately. Kissing Jack felt just as good as Mac remembered and it was addicting. Mac didn’t want to stop, moaning when Jack kissed him harder, and he slowly ran his hands up and down his back, eventually sliding one hand lower to Jack’s ass. He squeezed one of his ass cheeks playfully, smiling against Jack’s lips when he let out a small groan, his hips twitching a little.

“Have I told you how I would always lose my damn mind whenever you bent down?” Mac murmured, nipping on Jack’s lower lip and continuing to grope his ass. “Your ass is very distracting.”

Jack chuckled against his mouth, breaking the kiss to press his lips to Mac’s jaw, then the birthmark on his throat. He didn’t bite or otherwise leave marks, and Mac couldn’t wait until this mission was over so he could walk around covered in hickeys from Jack. “Speak for yourself,” Jack mumbled, his nails scratching over Mac’s scalp, fingers tangling in the back of his hair. “Do you have any idea how distracting your hands are? They’re fucking incredible to watch—always moving, doing something.” He pressed his lips to Mac’s ear. “I’ve always wondered how those pretty fingers of yours would feel inside me.”

Mac exhaled shakily and felt himself blush again—he’d always considered his fingers to be weird, too long (and he’d been told that many times), but Jack sounded like he really meant it. Mac turned his head to nip on Jack’s jaw and neck and slid his fingers into Jack’s ass crack, rubbing one over his entrance. Jack moaned softly and shuddered on top of him, and Mac was mesmerized, teasing his hole just to hear that sound again.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he murmured, sucking on Jack’s earlobe. “Should I go grab the lube?”

“Mhmm, not sure we need it,” Jack mumbled back, hand reaching for the tiny bottles on the edge of the tub. One of them was labelled as body-safe massage oil, and Mac’s toes curled when Jack pressed it into his palm. “Besides, the water should help.”

Mac tried to distract from his nerves by nipping at Jack’s jaw, dumping some oil on his fingers before sliding them in between Jack’s ass cheeks again. Jack gasped when Mac pressed one finger against his entrance and after teasing for a moment Mac slowly pushed it inside. His heart was hammering nervously and Jack let out a low moan, tightening his arms around Mac’s neck and pressing himself closer. That reaction was reassuring, so Mac cautiously pressed his finger deeper, moving it in and out slowly. Jack keened against his cheek and rocked into the sensation, which made Mac feel hot all over because _he_ was the one making Jack feel good. He made him feel good when they had sex earlier too, but this... this was different, somehow, and Mac liked it. He moved his finger in and out a few more times before adding a second one, and Jack moaned louder, his hands sliding to Mac’s shoulders to grip them tightly.

“Feels so good, baby,” Jack groaned, his hips twitching, and Mac started moving his fingers a little faster and deeper, and when Jack let out a broken whimper he knew he found his prostate.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Mac whispered, scraping his teeth along Jack’s jaw, loving how his stubble felt under his lips. He rubbed his fingertips over his prostate for a moment before drawing them back and scissoring them apart, adding a third finger after another moment of stretching.

He felt Jack shudder against him and then he started rocking his hips, pushing against Mac’s fingers and whining into his hair, the water sloshing around them. “Mac, please,” Jack whispered brokenly, and that _did_ something to Mac. “Please, baby, I... I need you inside me.”

“Okay, okay,” Mac said, trying his best to be soothing as he withdrew his fingers.

He found the bottle of oil again and put some on his cock, the water acting as additional lube. He put his hands on Jack’s hips, squeezing and willing himself not to move as Jack lined up Mac’s cock with his entrance. He started sinking down slowly, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open in wordless pleasure. He looked beautiful like that and Mac couldn’t stop looking at him, mesmerized by how gorgeous he looked and the sounds of pleasure he let out.

Once Mac was fully inside him Jack wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in his neck, breathing harshly against his skin. Mac forced himself not to move even though Jack felt _amazing_ , hot and tight around him, and he slowly ran his hands up and down Jack’s back. A moment later he felt Jack exhale shakily and then he moved, rolling his hips down slowly, making them both groan. Jack was _strong_ , and even that little movement made Mac shift just a little, and he got in that much deeper.

“Fuck, Jack,” Mac breathed out, mouthing over Jack’s pulse and sucking a bruise into his skin. “You feel so good, babe.”

Jack settled his head against the top of Mac’s shoulder and kept up those slow rocks of his hips for a while—until he found his prostate. His entire body jolted and he cried out brokenly, and Mac immediately loved that sound and needed to hear again. He also couldn’t stay still any longer, so he wrapped one arm around Jack’s waist and used the other hand to brace himself... and he started thrusting up, meeting Jack’s hips every time he rolled them down.

Jack moaned right into his ear, one hand sliding up to fist the hair at the back of Mac’s head, the other one still gripping his shoulder. “Mac, baby, _oh_ ,” he practically shouted, pulling his hips up before slamming them down again. He stilled, grinding Mac’s cock against his prostate—and then he liftedhimself off completely, grabbing for the edge of the tub. “If you don’t fuck me on this floor right now I’m gonna lose my damn mind.”

Mac felt like someone just knocked the air out of his lungs and he stared at Jack with wide eyes for a few seconds before he frantically nodded. They both scrambled out of the tub and Jack laid right there on the floor and Mac didn’t waste any time and settled on top of him, crashing their lips in a hungry kiss. He shifted and when he felt the head of his cock brush over Jack’s hole he started pushing in again.

They both groaned at the feeling of it, and Mac gasped for air and pressed his face into Jack’s throat. Once his hips were flush against Jack’s he shuddered and slipped an arm under Jack’s back in an effort to keep them from skidding on the floor. Then he drew his hips back and thrusted forward again, harder than he intended but too far gone to care.

Jack didn’t seem to mind either, moaning loudly and wrapping his arms around Mac, his fingernails digging into his back. Mac set up fast pace, letting his hips slam harder with each thrust, and the sounds Jack made are only spurring him on. He nipped and bit on Jack’s neck, his shoulder, wherever he could reach, panting against his skin, groaning when Jack clenched around him every time he hit his prostate.

Jack started letting out these soft little cries and Mac could tell he was close so he kept it up, hammering into him as fast and hard as he could until Jack came with a scream, spurting all over himself. Seeing and hearing Jack’s orgasm—not to mention feeling it—was enough to tip Mac over the edge too, muffling a long, loud moan against Jack’s shoulder, hips twitching and grinding forward as he filled him with come.

Jack gasped softly until Mac’s hips finally still and he collapsed on top of him. They were both panting, their chests moving rapidly, and after a moment Mac felt Jack’s arms circle his back and squeeze him tightly. “You okay, darlin’?”

“I... I’m fucking amazing,” Mac replied, nuzzling at Jack’s jaw. He was wet and sticky, everything sort of ached... and yet he’d never felt better in his whole life. He lifted his head enough to look Jack in the eye. “What about you?”

“I’m great,” Jack murmured, still sounding out of breath. He was pliant and relaxed under Mac and it kind of blew Mac’s mind that Jack just... trusted him with everything like that. “And you were worried about messing up. It was... incredible.” He turned his head to press a kiss to Mac’s forehead. “You’re incredible.”

“Mhmm, I think that’s you,” Mac mumbled, shifting enough to pull out before both of them sat up slowly. “Maybe we should drain the bath and turn on the shower?”

“Baby, I don’t know if I can walk, let alone shower,” Jack said, chuckling a little when Mac’s eyes got big. “That was easily the best I’ve ever been fucked.”

“What?” Mac breathed out before shaking his head. “No way.” While it _was_ amazing, for Mac at least, he was pretty sure Jack was just saying that to make him feel good. “I’m... I’m nothing special, really,” he mumbled, once again needing something to occupy himself with, so he reached out to drain the tub. Jack had been with... many people and Mac knew he didn’t compare, although he chose not to voice that particular thought. He felt Jack’s hands on his face a moment later, and the next thing he knew his head was being turned so Jack could kiss him.

It was surprisingly soft and affectionate given what they just did, and the words Jack said next make Mac’s heart flip in his chest: “You listen to me, Angus MacGyver. You’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met, and everything about you is special. I love you so much, and if I say that’s the best I’ve ever been fucked then it’s the goddamn truth, you hear me?”

Mac stared at Jack with wide eyes because while he was calm and his words are soft, there’s also an edge to them, like he won’t let Mac argue with him. “I’m... okay,” he whispered, swallowing hard. “I love you too. So much.” He leaned in to kiss Jack again, closing his eyes and wrapping his fingers around Jack’s wrists. “Also, you could... you can call me Angus,” he added, the words out of his mouth before he knew it. “If you want to.”

Jack’s eyes went wide with surprise, his thumb rubbing over the soft skin under Mac’s eye. “Are you sure? I know you’re not crazy about that.”

“Only if it’s being said like an insult,” Mac told him, and then slid his hands under Jack’s elbows and pushed them both to their feet, backing into the open shower. “And... I like how it sounds when you say it.”

Jack searched his eyes for a moment and whatever he found there must’ve satisfied him because he smiled. “Okay, Angus,” he murmured, and Mac’s heart jumped because Jack saying it like that, so full of affection... he loved it. A lot. He turned on the water and wrapped his arms around Jack, remembering what he said about not being able to walk and holding him up just in case. “I was kinda kidding about not being able to walk,” he said, but he held Mac in return, taking advantage of their closeness and pressing a kiss to Mac’s mouth. “But I’m not gonna complain about the hug.”

Mac rolled his eyes and smacked Jack’s ass lightly before he let him go. “Drama queen.”

“Aw, no, come back here,” Jack whined, and pulled him back in, holding him close, and Mac couldn’t help but smile because that was _adorable_.

He kissed Jack’s cheek, nuzzling his stubble a little and closing his eyes, sighing at how good the warm water felt on his skin. For now he just tried to enjoy this moment, not thinking about Kovacs and how he’d have to pretend to be attracted to him. Jack planted soft kisses along Mac’s jaw up to his ear, bringing up one hand to rake his wet hair out of his face.

“You know, I thought I couldn’t be any more bothered by the idea of you having to pretend to be attracted to Kovacs,” Jack said, and Mac startled a little because it was almost like he was reading his mind. “But now? Now I just kinda wanna grab a missile launcher and aim it at his face.”

“Same here,” Mac said quietly, and Jack pulled back, his eyes wide in surprise. “What? Is it that shocking that I want you to blow him to pieces?” He leaned in to kiss Jack on the lips. “I really, I really do. I’m not looking forward to hanging out with him, that’s for sure.”

Jack was smiling back at him when Mac pulled away. “Well, that’s reassuring,” he teased, squeezing at Mac’s waist. “Guess I don’t have to worry about you fallin’ for another old geezer.”

Mac’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion—he knew that was a joke, but there was something off in Jack’s voice when he said it. “What do you mean? You’re not old.”

Jack snorted. “Right, nice try, darlin’,” he said with that grin that didn’t reach his eyes, the one that usually appeared on his face when he was trying to hide how he really felt.

“Jack, you’re not old,” Mac tried again, forcing Jack to look at him when he turned his gaze away. “You’re older than me, sure. But you’re not _old_.”

Jack glanced at him, and whatever he saw in Mac’s expression made him pause. “You actually believe that?”

“Of course I do!” Mac exclaimed, bringing his hands up to frame Jack’s face, smiling when his fingertips brushed over the lines by his eyes. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, period. Why would I care about your age?”

“I’m... I don’t wanna drag you down,” Jack admitted quietly, and Mac’s eyes widened in shock. “Slow you down or—”

“Jack, what are you talking about?” Mac interjected, unable to listen to Jack talk like that. “Where’s that coming from?”

“It’s coming from reality, darlin’,” Jack said, gently but with conviction, like he’d thought about this before. “I’m... I’m not gonna be able to do this job forever, and I... I don’t want you to ever feel like you _have_ to stay with me, you know? In a professional way or any other one.”

“I could never feel like I _have_ to stay with you, Jack,” Mac said softly, sliding his hands up to hold Jack’s face in them. “I’ll always _want_ to stay with you, no matter what.” He rubbed Jack’s cheeks with his thumbs and smiled a little. “If you ever decide you’re done, I’ll retire too and we’ll... we’ll go anywhere you want. We can stay in LA, or... or we can go to your ranch in Texas.”

Jack stared at him for a moment before he turned his head enough to kiss one of Mac’s palms. “I love you,” he murmured, and to Mac’s shock he sounds like he was close to crying. “You’ve done so much for me, Angus, you have no idea. And I didn’t... I never expected it, but you’ve made me a better person.”

“I love you too,” Mac whispered back, hugging Jack a little tighter. “You were always a good person, Jack. You just... forgot for a while.” He leaned in for another kiss and lingered there for a moment. “You saved me, you know that? And I don’t just mean saving my life, repeatedly. I’m... I wasn’t doing that great back in the sandbox. After Peña... and everything else.”

Jack raised his eyebrows, one of his thumbs rubbing slow circles against Mac’s hip. “What do you mean, everything else?”

“I kind of... got kidnapped while I was over there?” Mac said, wincing when something dark flashed across Jack’s face. “There might’ve been some torture involved... it was part of the reason I got so angry so quickly when you acted like a jerk about your gun.”

Jack’s eyes widened and then he looked so guilty and miserable that it broke Mac’s heart. “Fuck,” he swore quietly. “I didn’t... I’m so sorry, baby. I had no idea, I’m—”

“Jack, it’s fine,” Mac interjected softly. “We didn’t know each other back then, it’s okay.”

Jack didn’t look convinced, but he also didn’t try to get away from Mac, so that was good. “How bad was it?” he asked quietly, his hand still gently gripping Mac’s hip.

Mac thought back to that time and winced. “Well, it wasn’t good... there was some waterboarding involved, and maybe some light stabbing—that’s how I got the scars on my back.” He grasped Jack’s wrist and moved his hand off his hip so he could feel the scars Mac’s talking about, dangerously close to his kidneys. “I had just gotten my stitches out the day we met.”

“That doesn’t feel like light stabbing,” Jack muttered, his voice tight, and it took Mac a second to realize Jack was furious and was probably planning how to hunt down the terrorists that kidnapped him. “If I’d known...” He sighed. “How much did it hurt when I slammed you into the ground when we fought?”

“A lot,” Mac said honestly as they started showering for real, which mostly consisted of Jack shampooing Mac’s hair. It was surprising but Mac loved it, leaning back into Jack’s hands and moaning softly. “But... but I almost choked you out, so I think we’re even. God that feels good.”

“I don’t like the idea of hurting you even if I didn’t know you then,” Jack said, his voice regretful. He scratched Mac’s scalp lightly and Mac moaned again, not even embarrassed about it. “You have a thing, don’t you?” Jack murmured, leaning in to kiss Mac’s neck. “I noticed when I tugged your hair earlier during sex.”

“Mhmm... yeah, I do have a thing,” Mac said, his arms hanging loose and relaxed by his sides, and if it wasn’t for Jack’s hands his head would be on Jack’s shoulder. His cock twitched involuntarily when Jack pulled at his hair, just a little. “I have a lot of things, and most of them are related to you.”

“Oh yeah?” Jack murmured into his ear, kissing the lobe. “Like what?”

Mac let his eyes slip shut and he swallowed a little, ignoring the faint blush he felt on his cheeks. “I... I like how strong you are,” he said quietly. “You could... pin and hold me down and I would be very okay with it.”

Jack turned him around briefly to rinse the shampoo from his hair, but then he manhandled Mac’s back to Jack’s front again. “What else?”

“Your hands drive me crazy,” Mac continued, shuddering when Jack put conditioner in his hair next, repeating the process of the rinsing before returning them to their original position. One of those hands slipped down to wrap around Mac’s cock, and the other one slid up to touch his throat. “I... I like how they feel rough, but I know you’d never hurt me.”

“Mhmm,” Jack hummed, giving him a few slow strokes, and Mac moaned softly. “Keep goin’, baby.”

“You taking control,” Mac gasped when Jack tightened his grip on his cock, his other hand still touching his throat. “I trust you with everything and I... I like you being in charge.” His breath hitched. “I wouldn’t say no to you maybe... choking me?”

The pressure of Jack’s hand on his throat got heavier—not quite a squeeze, but it was a possibility and that made Mac almost dizzy with arousal. “How about I tell you some things I have for you?” Jack rumbled against his ear, thumb rubbing over the tip of Mac’s cock. “One of ‘em is how responsive you are to everything I do.” Mac whimpered, Jack’s teasing touch driving him insane, and when he shifted he felt Jack’s hard cock press against his ass. “Yeah, just like that,” Jack murmured, going back to stroking Mac slowly, his fingers tightening a little around his throat.

“What... what else?” Mac gasped, his hips twitching into Jack’s hand.

“Well, I already told you how I feel about your fingers,” Jack mused, nipping lightly at the skin behind Mac’s ear. He squeezed Mac’s throat hard enough that he couldn’t breathe. “But I also love your mouth, the way it feels against mine... and I bet it’d feel fantastic around my cock.” Mac’s body jolted and he trembled against Jack, gulping in air when Jack let him. “Fuck, you really like that,” Jack whispered, nipping on Mac’s earlobe next. “If I didn’t have to worry about marks on you, I’d keep doin’ that.” As much as Mac loved it and wanted more, he knew Jack’s right and that Kovacs couldn’t see a hand shaped bruise on Mac’s throat. “Later, I promise,” Jack murmured when Mac whined a little, and he wrapped his arm around his chest.

“Jack, please,” Mac whimpered, reaching back with both hands to grab Jack’s ass and pull him in close, moaning when he felt him grind his hard length between his ass cheeks.

“Please what, baby?” Jack asked, just a hint of teasing in his voice. “You’ve gotta use your words.”

“Grab the rest of that oil and get inside me,” Mac said in a breathless rush, his blush intensifying. “I need it, Jack.”

“Fuck,” Jack muttered, biting down on Mac’s shoulder, and then he let go of Mac’s cock and he was gone. Mac placed his forearms on the shower wall and leaned forward, breathing deeply in and out, and a second later he felt Jack behind him again. “You’re so gorgeous,” he murmured, and then his fingers slid into Mac’s ass crack.

Mac made an obscene noise when Jack’s finger moved into his body, bracing himself so he didn’t slip and fall. Despite the fact that he said he wasn’t a fan of shower sex, he couldn’t bring himself to suggest moving to the bed, too busy losing himself in the slight burn and stretch of Jack’s finger in his hole. He moaned loudly when after moving his finger in and out for a moment Jack added a second finger and pushed them deeper. His other arm was wrapped around Mac’s waist and his dick was pressed against his ass cheek, and Mac shuddered, crying out brokenly when Jack’s fingers brushed over his prostate.

He keened when Jack fucked him with his fingers, the movements rougher than how he’d prepped Mac the night before. “Jack, _oh_ ,” he moaned out, twitching and swearing when Jack left his fingertips pressed against his prostate. “Please, just... I’m ready, just fuck me. Make me feel it.” Jack growled against his shoulder and removed his fingers. A moment later Mac felt the head of his cock press against his entrance and then Jack started pushing in, and while he was still careful, he went faster than last night. He stilled once he bottoms out and Mac swallowed hard, giving himself a few seconds before he pushed back against Jack, making them both groan. “ _Please_ , Jack.”

Jack grabbed his hips and pulled back, thrusting forward again and groaning. “You’re so fucking tight, baby,” he said, starting to fuck Mac in earnest, every push of his hips deep and harsh. It ached in the best possible way, and Mac knew he would feel it while he’s on his date with Kovacs. “I can’t wait until I can pin you to the mattress and choke you, just like you want.”

Mac moaned brokenly when he imagined that and leaned heavily against the wall, his head between his forearms as Jack fucked him, fast and rough. He was hitting his prostate with almost every thrust and Mac just kept whimpering and moaning, clawing at the wall. “J-Jack, oh god, _Jack_.”

“Fuck, Angus, you take it so well,” Jack growled out, leaning down far enough to sink his teeth into the back of Mac’s shoulder.

He pumped his hips so hard it was shoving Mac up the wall, and soon he was pressed flat against it, Jack’s body caging him against the tile. The change in angle shoved his cock in Mac’s body impossibly deeper and he sobbed with it, wants to come so badly but it just wasn’t _enough_. Jack was panting and groaning into his skin, and after a moment he grabbed Mac’s wrists and pinned them against the wall above his head with one hand. His other hand slid up Mac’s chest and his fingers wrapped around his throat, squeezing lightly enough not to leave a bruise, but tightly enough to cut off Mac’s air a bit.

An airless scream left Mac’s lips and he started to come, writhing in Jack’s hold as he painted the tile and his abs white. All the while Jack continued to fuck him, desperately chasing his own release, talking low and filthy in Mac’s ear: “Look at you, Angus, so goddamn beautiful when you fall apart for me. And you just let me do whatever I want, fuck you as hard as I like even after you come.”

“Y-yes,” Mac gasped when Jack let him, taking his hand off his throat. “Whatever you want, Jack.”

In response Jack only growled, biting down on his bruised shoulder again, and he let go of Mac’s wrists in favor of putting both hands on his hips and gripping them tightly. “You’re so good for me,” Jack groaned, not slowing down and mercilessly pounding into Mac. “So fucking good.”

That kind of praise did something to Mac, made something warm and primal twist in his gut—he loved it, and knew he’d never get enough. And just when Mac thought it might be too much, when he might not be able to take such brutal stimulation anymore, he felt Jack go tense all over behind him, moaning out his pleasure in Mac’s ear as he came undone. Warm, sticky come filled Mac up as Jack’s hips started pumping again, working him through the aftershocks.

Mac gasped softly, trembling against the wall, and when Jack’s hips finally stilled he felt his knees give out. He didn’t go down thanks to Jack’s arm circling his waist and holding him up, his lips pressed against Mac’s shoulder. He was panting heavily, his breath hot on Mac’s skin, and Mac let himself slump a little, knowing Jack wouldn’t let him fall.

They stood like that for a moment, Jack’s softening cock slipping from Mac’s body—and then Mac straightened up so fast he almost knocked Jack over. “Oh fuck, what time is it? I’m gonna be late for my date!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I know I said in more than one place that this would be the last chapter of this fic, but I realized that it would be WAY too long if I posted it as one chapter so now it's two. :) This one is a little shorter than usual for that reason. **Warning for violence that's more graphic than what you'd normally see on the show, but it's brief.** Enjoy!

They both paused, and Mac winced. “I realize out of context that sounds _really_ weird given what we just did, but seriously man, I can’t stand him up.”

“I’m tempted to lock you in here anyway,” Jack grumbled, but he loosened his grip on him.

“That’s romantic,” Mac said with a grin, giving Jack a short kiss. They quickly washed up and then stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towels. There’s something dark in Jack’s eyes that made Mac pause and he sighed a little, stepping closer. “Jack. I’ll be fine.”

Jack watched him for a moment, and all of a sudden he put a towel on Mac’s head and dried his hair for him. “I know you’ll be fine, because you’re competent as hell... and I’m gonna be nearby, and you’ll be on comms the whole time,” he said, lifting the towel enough that Mac could peek at him, saw a serious expression paired with a gaze full of warmth. “And if _anything_ seems fishy, we need a code word.”

“Mhmm, something that can be used in any situation without—what?” Mac asked, tilting his head when the expression on Jack’s face morphed into something amused and fond.

“Nothin’, baby,” Jack said. “I just... have I ever told you that sometimes you look like a golden retriever puppy?”

Mac’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Uh... no? Is that... a compliment?”

Jack chuckled as he pulled the towel off Mac’s head and leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. “Yes, Angus, it’s a compliment. So, what kinda word are we thinkin’?”

“Maybe...” Mac trailed off, thinking about it for a moment. “McClane?”

“McClane?” Jack repeated with a grin, but Mac didn’t think he smiled consciously—it was just something that happened whenever _Die Hard_ was mentioned. “How on earth are you gonna use it in a conversation?”

“I’ll figure something out,” Mac said. “It’s easy to talk about movies.”

They went out into the bedroom and got dressed, and Mac took more care selecting his outfit than he normally would. He picked up a tighter pair of jeans and the blue button-down shirt that brought out his eyes. He even spritzed on some cologne, then sat down to pull on his boots. He felt Jack’s gaze on him and when he glanced up he saw Jack was already dressed, watching him with dark eyes.

“You look way too hot,” Jack grumbled, and Mac let out a surprised laugh, feeling his cheeks turn red. “Kovacs is gonna drool all over you.”

“Well that’s what we want, isn’t it?” Mac asked, which got him more grumbling. He stood up, running his fingers through his hair to get it to settle down before he grabbed his coat, his phone, and his comm, the latter of which he stuck in his ear. Once that’s done he put on his scarf and hat, blowing out a nervous breath. “Well, here goes nothing.” He leaned in to give Jack a kiss. “Take the stairs down to the lobby, yeah? We don’t want Kovacs to see you.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me,” Jack said, and stepped back, but it seemed he was doing so reluctantly. “Just... _please_ , be careful? Yes, I know I said it already,” he continued when Mac opened his mouth. “But just... remember that he’s one of the most ruthless bastards I’ve ever dealt with. If anything feels wrong—”

“I’ll use our code word,” Mac interjected softly. “I promise.”

He made himself turn and leave the hotel room after that, afraid that if he didn’t do it now he wouldn’t do it at all.

~***~

The elevator ride down to the lobby felt too short and too long all at once, and then Mac was down there and had to put on his game face. Kovacs was easy to spot, flipping through a newspaper while sitting in a chair, and when their eyes met he stood up. “Angus, you look... wonderful,” he said, and held out a hand. “Are you ready for lunch?”

Mac smiled at him and took his hand, stepping closer and leaning in to kiss his cheek. He lingered there for a moment, trying not to wince or gag, and then he pulled back, his smile turning into a grin. “More than ready,” he said, purposefully keeping his voice lower than usual. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a wonderful little lunch spot in the Friedrichshain neighborhood that I think you’ll enjoy,” Kovacs told him, and they stepped outside into the brisk air.

A black sedan waited near the door, and to Mac’s surprise there was nobody else in it—no driver and no guards. Kovacs held the passenger’s door for him and he got inside... and almost immediately spotted the shine of the silver briefcase from the night before in the backseat. At least it looked exactly like the one Kovacs stole and Mac’s first panicked thought was that this was some kind of test, to see if he reacted, if he asked about it—but then Mac forced himself to calm down.

Mac waited for Kovacs to get behind the wheel before he said, “It sounds great. You seem to know Berlin very well, how often are you here?”

“I come here for business several times a year,” Kovacs said, pulling away from the hotel. “It’s one of my favorite cities in the world.” A glance in the rearview mirror told Mac that Jack was just starting up their rental car back in the parking lot, and he’d be tailing them soon. Before he could think too deeply on that, Kovacs continued, “So tell me about Los Angeles, Angus. That is one place I’ve never visited, but I must admit I’ve heard some... less than exemplary things.”

“Oh yeah? Let me guess: Hollywood, drama and parties?” Mac asked with a grin, and Kovacs laughed. It sounded... normal and if Mac would even say it was nice, but he knew better. “It’s not that bad. I mean, you can run into those... less than exemplary things anywhere, but if you know where to go...” He trailed off with a shrug. “It can be quite beautiful.”

“That would explain why you’re from there, then,” Kovacs said, sneaking a glance at him as he navigated through the midday traffic. “But I doubt all the men in California are as beautiful as you.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were flirting with me, Tiberius,” Mac teased. He heard Jack let out a measured breath in his ear, and pictured his hands tightening on his steering wheel. “And if you were flirting with me... I’d say I like it.”

They stopped at a red light and Kovacs turned in his seat and placed a hand on Mac’s thigh. He slid it up and down and then leaned in, so Mac had no choice but to meet him halfway and he closed his eyes as their lips met. It was surprisingly gentle, their lips moving together slowly, and if he was kissing anyone else Mac would say it was pleasant. They parted once the light changed and at the next one they turned into a parking lot. The restaurant looked modern and there was a crowd inside, but as soon as they were in the door a waiter took them directly to a table—evidently Kovacs made a reservation.

He also took their coats and then Kovacs pulled Mac’s chair out for him—who knew a terrorist could also be a gentleman? Mac had to admit Kovacs was good, so far he hadn’t done anything to betray his true personality which only proved this guy was just as dangerous as Jack said he was. Speaking of Jack, Mac was sure he was nearby _somewhere_ —definitely not inside the restaurant but probably sitting in the car parked close by. They ordered drinks—coffee again, which Mac appreciated since he didn’t get much sleep—and they chatted for a while, mostly small talk about the weather and what landmarks Mac wanted to see.

After the waiter came back to take their food order, Mac excused himself to the restroom, which turned out to be a one-toilet deal. He locked the door behind him and leaned against it, tapping his comm. “Jack? Kovacs has the briefcase from last night in the back of his car.”

“What? Seriously?” Jack asked, and Mac couldn’t even describe how relieved he was to hear his voice. “He just drives around with it in plain sight? That... Mac, he’s not that dumb. It sounds off to me.” His voice now sounded worried. “You doin’ okay?” Jack asked before Mac could say anything. “I mean, it sounds fine from what I’m hearin’, but that briefcase... that’s suspicious, baby.”

“I’m okay, Jack, but I’m just as worried as you are—if it is some kind of weapon, why does he just have it in his car? Or is a decoy?” Mac let out a sigh of frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I have to get back out there... I love you.”

“Love you too,” Jack replied, as easy as breathing, and Mac smiled.

He turned and opened the door—and made a sound of shock when he saw Kovacs on the other side. Before he could react Kovacs had one hand on his throat, choking off his air and backing him into the bathroom, the other one fishing the comm out of Mac’s ear and throwing it into the toilet. He pinned him against the wall and when Mac started struggling Kovacs punched him in the stomach and tightened his grip on Mac’s throat.

“Now that it’s truly just the two of us... let’s talk,” Kovacs said, and he looked nothing like he did just moments ago—his eyes were now cold and the smirk on his face made a chill run down Mac’s spine... and instead of a man he saw the monster Jack described to him. “You’re _good_ , Angus. Much better than I thought you would be, so I’ll admit, I’m impressed.”

“Thanks,” Mac wheezed out when Kovacs let him breathe, “means a lot coming from a sociopath like you.”

That earned him a slap across the face, so hard it made his ears ring and his vision white out. He went completely still when Kovacs pulled him closer—which conveniently made it so Mac couldn’t knee him in the balls—and felt the press of a knife blade against his spine. “Let me tell you how this is going to go,” Kovacs said, his voice low and deadly. “You’re going to throw your phone in the toilet, and then we’re going to walk out the back of the restaurant. A car will be waiting for us, and you will get in it with me—or I will paralyze you from the waist down.”

Mac’s heart was pounding and he swallowed hard, wondering if Jack heard the sound he made right before Kovacs got rid of his comm. Even if he didn’t he must have realized something was wrong when he didn’t hear Mac getting back to Kovacs... right? Unfortunately Mac didn’t have many options here, so after a moment he nodded and slowly reached into his pocket to grab his phone. He tossed it in the toilet like he was told and Kovacs smirked again. “Good boy.”

Mac felt bile rise in the back of his throat, and he begrudgingly allowed Kovacs to lead him out of the bathroom and through the kitchen. It was freezing outside without his coat, but Kovacs was right about the car waiting for them—it was a giant American SUV, and one look at it told Mac it was armored. The back door popped open and Kovacs shoved him inside, crawling in after him and wrapping his arm around Mac, pressing the knife to his throat instead.

There were six armed men in the vehicle with them, including the driver, and the SUV pulled out of the parking lot as soon as the door closed. Mac stayed still because there really wasn’t anything else he could do with a blade against his throat. He thought about all their interactions and tried to figure out where he made a mistake, when exactly Kovacs made him... unless he knew who he was all along and played both him and Jack.

“What do you want?” Mac asked through gritted teeth, his breath hitching when Kovacs pressed the knife more into his skin, tilting his head and watching him with those empty eyes.

“Oh, that’s easy, Angus. Or do you prefer Mac?” Well, that answered Mac’s question about whether Kovacs knew who he was or not. “I want Jack Dalton. And I want him dead.”

“I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said I didn’t know who that was?” Mac tried, and gasped when the blade of the knife cut his skin, blood trickling down his throat into the collar of his shirt. “Okay then, point taken.”

“You’re Dalton’s partner, aren’t you?” Kovacs continued, as if Mac hadn’t spoken. “How much do you suppose you mean to him?”

“Not enough for him to give himself up for me if that’s what you’re hoping for,” Mac lied, and the words felt wrong as he said them—he knew Jack would give himself up and much more in order to save him—but he wasn’t about to tell Kovacs the truth.

“Mhmm, I don’t think so,” Kovacs murmured, shifting closer to Mac to whisper in his ear. “I think he’ll do a lot in order to save you. And when I get him, I’m going to make him wish I killed him right away.” To Mac’s horror Kovacs nipped on his jaw and put his free hand on Mac’s knee, slowly sliding it up. “I’m gonna have my fun with you, make you scream and beg me to stop... and I’ll make him watch us,” he whispered, his fingers brushing over the inside of Mac’s thigh as his hand slowly inched higher.

Before Mac could do much more than inhale sharply, something hit the driver’s side of the SUV so hard that it spun 360 degrees in the middle of the road. He knew that based on the direction and the timing it almost had to be Jack that hit them, but Mac didn’t have time to be relieved because he was busy kicking the goon nearest to him in the hand so he couldn’t reach for his gun and trying to pry the knife away from his throat.

Kovacs mumbled something in Hungarian—it sounded very much like a string of curses—and he punched Mac hard enough for him to see stars. He tried fighting, but Kovacs had the advantage and used the knife again, this time pinning Mac down and pressing it between his ribs while shouting the orders in Hungarian to his goons. The driver clearly tried to get them away from Jack and as he remembered how massive the SUV was, Mac doubted the collision did a lot of damage.

The wheels spun on the SUV and it started to move, but Jack evidently threw the rental car in reverse and rammed them again. The windshield spiderwebbed and because the SUV was taller than the car Jack’s in it teetered dangerously—when the driver tried to gun it he lost control and ran off the road, hitting the corner of a building. Kovacs screamed at him in his native language and while he was distracted, Mac grabbed his wrist and bent it back, getting him to drop the knife so Mac could punch him in the face.

It felt very satisfying, but Mac didn’t get much time to enjoy it because Kovacs immediately started fighting back. While they were struggling the goons jumped out of the car, their guns out, but Mac hoped Jack was going to take care of them even though he was outnumbered. He heard the sound of gunshots a second later and while he was worried sick about Jack he had to focus on Kovacs right now who was apparently trying to choke him. He kneed him in the balls and tried to roll them over to pin Kovacs down, but he recovered quicker than Mac hoped and managed to punch him and stun him. It lasted only for a second and Mac was about to hit Kovacs again... but then he gasped sharply when he felt the blade slide into his body, going between his ribs like butter.

It didn’t hurt right away, adrenaline keeping the pain at bay, and Mac snarled and grabbed Kovacs by the front of his shirt, sitting up at the same time he yanked him down, smashing his forehead into Kovacs’s nose. It broke instantly, blood spurting all over both of them, and it was enough to make Kovacs fall back, grabbing at his face with both hands. Mac twisted toward the nearest open door and fell through it, landing hard on the pavement as agony lanced through his body, the knife scraping against his ribs. He let out a muffled scream, curling a little in himself and panting, his breathing uneven and out of control. He absently realized that the sound of gunfire had stopped, but right now it was hard to focus on anything besides the burning pain in his side.

Suddenly, he heard some movement and a moment later Kovacs stumbled out of the SUV and even though Mac’s vision was a little blurry he saw the gun in Kovacs’s hand just fine. “You son of a bitch,” he growled, pointing the gun at Mac. “You’re gonna pay for all of this.”

Mac heard a gunshot and flinched, eyes closing automatically... and it took him a second to realize he wasn’t dead. When he looked again Kovacs had crumpled to the ground, a hole in the center of his forehead and his gun in his lifeless grasp. And then Mac couldn’t see him anymore because Jack’s there, one hand on Mac’s cheek, the other one still holding his gun. His eyes were wide with worry and he talked through the buzzing in Mac’s ears: “... baby? Are you okay?”

Mac opened his mouth but no sound came out and he blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. The blood pooling under him was warm, but Mac started shaking uncontrollably anyway, both from the pain and from how freezing it was since he wore just his shirt. “Mac, baby, what’s—oh god, no,” Jack gasped, and Mac guessed that Jack just noticed the knife sticking out of his side.

Mac licked his lips, breath coming out in a frosty cloud in front of his face. “I think it’s in my liver,” he said, his voice coming out more scared than he’d like. “Or I wouldn’t be able to breathe.”

Jack stared at him for a moment longer before he pulled out his phone and called Matty, quickly telling her where they were and what happened. “What do I do?” Jack asked, putting the call on speaker and holstering his gun, both hands hovering over Mac’s body. “How do I help you until they get here?”

“Don’t move the knife, but put... pressure on the wound,” Mac heard himself say, forcing himself to move his hands away from the spot and shut his eyes for a second. “There’s going to be a lot of blood, but there’s not much you can do about it.”

“Okay, okay,” Jack whispered, his voice shaking just a little. He put his hands over the wound and pressed down and Mac couldn’t hold back a scream, curling in himself and instinctively trying to move away.

“The ambulance is ten minutes out.” Matty’s voice sounded from the phone, but Mac barely heard her, trying not to pass out from the pain and blood loss.

“Mac, stay with me,” Jack said, and it took Mac a second to realize Jack’s crying. “You can do it, baby.”

Mac smiled weakly, reaching up with a shaking, bloodstained hand to touch Jack’s cheek. “I’m... glad,” he whispered, struggling to stay awake and also to find the words he wanted to use. “That... that I hid in your suitcase, and... and that we got to spend some time together before...”

“No, no, no, you don’t get to do this to me!” Jack exclaimed, pressing down harder on Mac’s wound as he let out a sob. “Angus, don’t you dare do this, don’t break my damn heart.”

“M’sorry, Jack,” Mac slurred out, his hand flopping down to rest on his chest. His eyes wouldn’t focus anymore, and they slipped shut as he mumbled, “Love you.”

And then the world turned black.

~***~

If someone asked Jack how long he’d been sitting in the small waiting room he wouldn’t be able to tell them. It could’ve been minutes or it could’ve been hours, Jack had no idea. The ambulance arrived shortly after Mac passed out and when they got to the hospital they took Mac away and Jack could do nothing but wait. He’d been staring at the wall ever since, the uncomfortable chair digging into his back, and he couldn’t help but replay everything that happened in his mind, cursing himself for agreeing to go along with Mac’s risky plan. He’s broken out of his guilty thoughts by his phone vibrating in his pocket.

He reached for it with a trembling hand—still covered in Mac’s blood—and he answered when he saw it was Desi. “Jack, I’m in Berlin,” she said before he could even get a word out. “What do you want me to do?”

Jack cleared his throat, but when he spoke he still sounded like he gargled glass shards. “I need you to find a briefcase,” he started, and told her the story of Kovacs and his meeting with Han, along with how he’d had what could possibly be a dummy briefcase in the back of his car. “We don’t know what’s in it, but it was worth killing Han and his men. I also...” He trailed off, rubbing his forehead and getting more blood everywhere. “There’s a slim chance that the guy I killed might not be Kovacs... but Matty got the hospital to run some of his blood that they found on Mac, so I should know soon.”

Desi was quiet for a moment. “How is he? Mac?”

Jack knew she hated feelings and comforting, so he appreciated that she tried. “I... I have no idea,” he replied, his voice cracking. “I haven’t heard anything, but... the bastard stabbed him. And it didn’t look great, Dez.”

“Jesus, Jack,” she said quietly, her voice laced with sympathy. Even though she wasn’t great with emotions they both knew what it was like to lose people—but nobody Jack’s ever lost before compared to Mac, except maybe his dad. “When’s the rest of your team getting there?”

Jack glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Should be soon... fuck, he’s been in surgery for almost eight hours.”

“Jack, I... I know I’ve never met him, but from what you told me Mac is strong,” Desi said. “He’ll be okay.”

Jack exhaled shakily, feeling like he was barely holding himself together and was about to fall apart any second. “Desi, there’s somethin’ I... I haven’t told you. About me and him. Mostly because when I talked to you the last time there was nothin’ to tell, but...”

“That you two are madly in love and you’re going to elope as soon as you’re back in the States?” Desi asked wryly. “You’re not exactly subtle, Jack, I could hear in your voice how much he means to you.” Her car engine shut off. “I’m at the restaurant, it looks like they’ve cleared the crime scene down the street. I’ll get back to you about the briefcase, okay?”

“Okay,” Jack whispered, and when she hung up he sat there frozen for a moment before he put his phone down—right as James came barreling into the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks! We've reached the last chapter! Thank you SOOO much for your support and all your wonderful comments, they mean the world to both of us! <3 I hope you like the ending, and I'll be back with another fic soon!

There was a slightly wild look in James’s eyes and Jack was expecting to be yelled at, if not now then soon. “How is he?” James asked, zeroing on Jack the second he saw him. His voice laced with worry and... something else, and Jack absently wondered if he was going to get punched. “Have you heard anything?”

Jack shook his head. “No, they... they rushed him back to surgery as soon as we got here, I haven’t heard anything since then.”

James seemed to deflate a little when he heard that, falling into the chair next to Jack’s and putting his face in his hands. “How bad was it, Dalton? Be honest with me.”

Jack swallowed hard and turned his gaze away, unable to look at James. “Kovacs stabbed him,” he whispered. “Between the ribs and Mac thought the knife got his liver. He... he was conscious, but not for long.” He sighed, his hands trembling again. “He’s been in surgery for eight hours, so... it must be worse than I thought.”

“Easy, Dalton—save some guilt for the rest of us,” Matty said as she came in with Riley and Bozer. They all looked tired and worried, and Jack almost got knocked out of his chair when Riley launched herself into his arms. “Maybe you haven’t heard anything because they’re busy saving his life. Getting news too soon could be worse.”

Jack hugged Riley back, burying his face in her neck, and he felt his composure starting to crumble. He tightened his arms around her when she tried to pull back, not letting go, and a second later she shifted, sitting on the chair next to his. She held him tightly and Jack blinked rapidly when his vision started blurring, trying not to fall apart, but his breath hitched anyway.

“Shhh, Jack, I know,” Riley whispered when Jack let out a muffled sob, rubbing his back like he used to do for her when she was a kid. “Mac’s one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, he’ll get through this.”

“Doesn’t mean Jack’s going to stop blaming himself,” Bozer pointed out, taking a seat nearby with Matty.

“Shut up, Bozer,” Riley said, and Jack knew she was glaring at Bozer above his head.

He appreciated that, even though Bozer was right—he wouldn’t stop blaming himself because all of this _was_ his fault, that much was obvious. He was desperately trying to pull himself together because as much as he would like to just curl up and sob in the corner he _couldn’t_. He tried to pull back, realizing he was probably getting Mac’s blood all over Riley, but she didn’t let him go.

A hand on his shoulder made him tense, and he didn’t relax even when he realized it belonged to James... but what he said surprises the hell out of Jack. “Dalton, this isn’t your fault. The job is dangerous, and I’m sure you told Angus about Kovacs and his history. He was doing what he needed to in order to bring down the target and get you both home.”

Jack shook his head even before James was done talking. He took a deep breath and tried to pull back again, and this time Riley let him. He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand and turned to face James and look at the others. “I never should’ve gone along with that crazy plan Mac came up with,” he whispered hoarsely. “I never should’ve let him do it.”

“What was the plan?” Matty asked, her voice much softer than usually. “I’m sure you didn’t have a choice, besides... it’s Mac. His plans usually are crazy.”

Haltingly, Jack told them everything that happened, at first omitting the details about the change in his and Mac’s relationship... but by the time he was done, he realized that their team—their family—deserved to know as much if not more than Desi did. “There is one other thing,” he said while they were all still absorbing the idea of Mac pretending to be attracted to Kovacs. “Mac and I... we kind of... got together. Romantically.”

Everyone stared at him in silence for a moment before Bozer pumped his fist in the air. “Finally!” he exclaimed. “It was getting painful to watch.”

Before Jack could react to that Riley hugged him again. “That’s great, Jack,” she said once she pulled back, smiling wildly. “And Bozer’s right, about damn time.”

Jack’s mouth dropped open, and while he was aware that he looked like a dying fish there was nothing he could do about it.

Matty grinned at him and reached out to smack him on the knee. “Good for you, Jack. I was wondering when that would happen.”

Lastly, James shook his head a little before he squeezed Jack’s shoulder again. “Everybody at the Phoenix has been taking bets on you two since it was founded. Some people are going to be very rich when we get back home.”

“I think Evans or Tan from the Bravo team were the closest,” Riley mused, while Jack’s still recovering. “I’ll check it later, I have the whole list on my rig.”

Before Jack could react, a woman in a white coat appeared in the doorway and they all jumped to their feet. “Family of Angus MacGyver?”

“That’s us,” James confirmed, and rolled his eyes when the doctor eyed them all suspiciously. “I’m his father. And that—” He gestured at Jack. “—is his husband.”

If Jack didn’t have the undercover experience that he did, his expression would’ve given away James’s blatant lie, but he managed to hold it together. “How is he?”

“Extremely lucky,” the doctor replied, and her English was excellent, German accent pronounced but not hard to understand. “The knife chipped his ribs as it moved inside his body, so that along with the already significant damage to his liver is why the surgery took so long. He lost a lot of blood... and I’m sorry to tell you that he coded once on the table and had to be revived.”

Jack let out a barely audible whimper and he swayed on his feet, but Riley grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly, somehow keeping him standing. James wasn’t doing much better, growing even paler than before and swallowing hard. “Is he...” Jack started, his voice shaking. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“With a lot of recuperation, yes,” the doctor told them, and everybody relaxed a little bit. “We’ve given him a blood transfusion, and we were able to remove all the bone chips and repair his liver laparoscopically, so he only has a few small incisions in addition to the stab wound. He’s on some heavy-duty antibiotics and painkillers at the moment, but a couple of you are welcome to come back and see him... the rest will have to wait until the morning.”

Jack’s knees finally gave out and he slumped down on his chair. He felt like sobbing in relief, but he breathed in and out a couple of times, deciding to have his little breakdown later when he’s alone. “I booked a few rooms in a hotel nearby.” Matty’s voice brought Jack back. “James, Jack, you go see him. We’ll see you later?”

“Well, you’ll see me,” James said, and he squeezed Jack’s shoulder again, almost like he... liked him? “I doubt we’ll be able to pry Jack off of Angus.”

He helped Jack to his feet and they set off down the hallway, following the doctor to an elevator. On the ride up, she said, “I can’t guarantee that he’s awake, but stay as long as you’d like. He’s hooked up to a lot of tubes and wires, so be prepared for that.”

She led them to Mac’s room and then she left, and Jack stared at the door for a few seconds before pushing it open and stepping inside. His knees almost gave out again when he saw Mac. He wasn’t awake and he looked... so small and so much younger, and he was so pale, just like after what happened at Lake Como. James was right behind him, and Jack heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw Mac. They entered the room slowly, trying not to make noise, and there happened to be two chairs by the bed so they both took a seat.

“I’m so sorry,” Jack whispered before he knew what he was doing, reaching out to gently touch the backs of Mac’s fingers. “I’m so fucking sorry, Angus.” He felt James’s gaze on him and he sighed. “He told me I could call him that,” he said quietly without glancing away from Mac.

James didn’t reply right away, but Jack honestly didn’t care and he slowly wrapped his fingers around Mac’s, giving them the gentlest squeeze. As if sensing Jack’s presence, Mac stirred a little, his hand tightening around Jack’s. He made a confused sound and opened his eyes, blinking in the shadowy dimness of the hospital room.

“Jack?” Mac whispered, focusing slowly. “What... happened?” He looked beyond Jack and his eyes went wide. “Dad?”

“Angus,” James said, reaching out to squeeze his calf over the blankets. “You gave us quite a scare, son.”

Mac’s brows furrowed adorably and Jack swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You got stabbed, remember?” he asked, barely keeping his voice steady. “It was... bad.”

He saw the moment when Mac recalled what happened, because his eyes got even bigger and his grip on Jack’s hand tightened. “I... I wasn’t sure if...” he started, and to Jack’s shock a tear ran down his cheek. “I thought maybe that was it, you know? But... he’s dead, right? Kovacs?”

Jack stilled. “ _Shit_ , I forgot—”

“Matty got the results when we were on our way here,” James interjected. “The man Jack killed was Kovacs. It’s over.” Jack turned to look at him with wide eyes and James gave him an apologetic smile. “We didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier.”

Jack nodded and shifted his gaze back to Mac who seemed relieved, but his eyes were still shining with tears. He held out his arms, lifting their joined hands, and it would take a much stronger man than Jack to resist leaning in to hug him. He was extremely careful about it, but he pressed a kiss to the side of Mac’s head and whispered, “I love you so much.”

He leaned back so James could hug him too, and whatever he said in Mac’s ear made him let out a surprised laugh. It was a beautiful sound, just like always, and Jack couldn’t help but smile... but it also reminded him he could have lost that laugh and suddenly he was once again on the brink of breaking down.

“I think I’m gonna head to the hotel,” James said, squeezing Mac’s wrist. “It’s been a long day, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He stepped back when Mac nodded and to Jack’s shock James came closer to pat him on the shoulder. “Take care, Jack.” And then he was gone.

Mac watched him go, and then he shifted over on the bed, wincing as he did so. “He said something about winning a bet? My dad doesn’t usually gamble, so I thought it was funny... what?” Jack just stared at him, trying his damnedest not to break down... and failing miserably if the wetness on his face was any indication. “Jack? Babe, what’s wrong?”

Jack felt his lower lip tremble, but he tried to take deep breaths because the last thing Mac needed was to worry about him. He angrily wiped his face and shakes his head, but it didn’t work and it only made him cry harder. “You coded on the operating table,” was what came out of his mouth, the words whispered in a broken voice, followed by a sob. “They had to revive you.”

“Guess that’s why my chest hurts,” Mac mumbled, grabbing the collar of his hospital gown and peeking underneath it, probably looking for bruises. Then he patted the empty spot on the hospital bed, reaching for Jack again. “Come here? I want to hug you.”

Jack grabbed Mac’s hand with his shaking one, but he didn’t move, shaking his head again. “I don’t wanna hurt you,” he whispered, swallowing another sob.

“You won’t,” Mac said, tugging on his hand. “Jack, please?” And again, Jack was helpless to deny Mac what he wanted. He shed his jacket before climbing into the bed, careful not to jostle Mac as he did so. Once he leaned back into the pillows, Mac nudged under his arm and snuggled into his side. He pressed his lips to Jack’s cheek and lingered, and when he spoke his voice was soft: “I love you too. I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier.”

“I know you do,” Jack whispered, and when Mac pulled back he turned his head to kiss his forehead. The tears were still rolling down his cheeks, he just couldn’t stop them, but having Mac this close helped a little. “You were in surgery for eight hours,” he whispered, pressing his face into Mac’s hair, unable to look him in the eye. “And I... I was waiting here alone, thinking I was about to lose you. I _can’t_ lose you, Angus, I—” His voice cracked. “I can’t.”

“You didn’t lose me, Jack,” Mac said, slipping his arm around Jack’s middle and squeezing. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He tilted his head up and raised his hand to Jack’s cheek, thumb stroking over the bone. “I’m sorry I scared you... if it’s any consolation, it scared me too. I might take some insane risks sometimes, but I don’t _want_ to die.”

Jack nodded because he knew that, but right now it didn’t really make him feel any better. “I was supposed to protect you,” he whispered, guilt once again burning in his chest. “I couldn’t... one second you were talking to me and then the comms died, I didn’t...” He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to stop shaking. “What happened? How did he make you?”

“He followed me to the bathroom and heard me talking to you through the door, I think,” Mac said, scrunching his face up a little as he tried to remember. “I’m not sure what made him suspicious enough to do that, but I guess it doesn’t really matter now. He ripped my comm out and destroyed it, my phone too. Then he forced me outside and into that armored car.”

Jack opened his mouth to say something, maybe apologize again, but then Mac’s eyes widened. “Wait, he... he called me Angus and then asked if I preferred Mac,” he said slowly, frowning a little. “How on earth did he know people call me that? Do you... you think he knew who I was all along?”

A chill ran down Jack’s spine. It would be just like Kovacs to try and fuck with them like that. “I guess he could’ve,” he allowed, holding Mac tighter without conscious thought. “And that would mean that he... he strung you along on purpose, because he _enjoyed_ , that motherfucker. Probably wanted to see if he could get you in bed before he tried to kill me.”

Mac went tense in his arms and when Jack looked down at him his lips were pressed in a thin line. “He... when we were in that car he... he wondered how much you’d be willing to do to save me. I tried lying to him, but he didn’t buy it he said that once he had you he would make you wish he had killed you right away.” He swallowed hard. “And he said you would... have his fun with me. Make me b-beg and that he’d make you watch.”

Jack’s vision went red and hazy for a moment, rage boiling hot in his stomach and up his throat. He pulled Mac as close as he dared and pressed his lips to his temple, shutting his eyes and forcing himself to breathe. “The important thing is that you’re here and he’s not,” he said, tone measured and deliberate.

“What about the briefcase?” Mac asked, seemingly unfazed by Jack’s anger. “Did you find out if the one in the car was real?”

“I... I didn’t,” Jack admitted. “Not yet anyway. After you got stabbed I couldn’t... I couldn’t leave you, so I texted Desi and told her to get here. She called me a few hours later and promised to find the briefcase.” He nuzzled Mac’s hair, breathing in deeply, and he didn’t care that he was acting like a dog—Mac’s smell calmed him down and he still felt shaken up, so he needed it. “She hasn’t called again yet.”

“Okay, so hopefully she’s finding the real one—because I’m pretty sure you were right and the one in that car was a decoy,” Mac said, one of his hands slipping underneath the hem of Jack’s shirt to stroke at his skin comfortingly. “He probably wanted to see if I’d say anything when I saw it.” He rest his head against Jack’s shoulder and sighed. “They’ve got me on good drugs, I want to go back to sleep... but I’m also hungry and I need the bathroom.”

Jack smiled because there was a pout audible in Mac’s voice, and he slid his hand up his back to tangle his fingers in his hair. “I can help you to the bathroom,” he murmured, closing his eyes for a moment, loving how soft Mac’s hair was. “And I can go ask around about some food. And then you can use me as a pillow.”

“That sounds good,” Mac said, and when Jack opened his eyes Mac was looking right at him. His blue eyes were a little fogged by the painkillers, but other than that he looked like himself. His fingers twisted into the material of the front of Jack’s t-shirt, tugging him impossibly closer. “Jack? Kiss me?”

Jack didn’t even protest because he was too weak and also because he really wanted to kiss Mac, and he leaned in to close the distance between them. He kept his hand in Mac’s hair as their lips slowly moved together, parting and pressing again, and even though it was a simple chaste kiss, it was enough to make Jack warm all over. Mac was warm and soft against him, but most importantly he was _alive_ and Jack kind of never wanted to stop kissing him. “Your old man told the doc we’re married,” he mumbled against Mac’s lips before kissing him again.

He felt Mac smile against his mouth. “Oh yeah? Did you have a heart attack when he said that?”

“Maybe a little one,” Jack admitted, because that particular lie had surprised the hell out of him. They were sharing air now, touching lips occasionally, and neither of them had moved toward the edge of the bed. “I didn’t even think James liked me.”

“If he acts like he likes you then he doesn’t like you,” Mac said, a twinkle of mischief in his eye as he leaned in for another kiss. “Now stop talking about my dad.”

Jack let out a raspy chuckle, happily letting Mac kiss him, and he made a surprised sound in the back of his throat when Mac’s tongue slipped between his lips. He wasn’t complaining, though, so he pulled Mac closer and tilted his head to deepen the kiss, loving the soft moan Mac let out. That moan turned into a noise of discomfort a second later, and Mac pulled back. “Sorry, breathing is kind of an issue,” he said, and smiled when Jack leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

“It’s fine, baby, don’t worry about it,” Jack said, and got off the bed before he helped Mac stand up. “I’d carry you to the bathroom, but I know walking after surgery is important even though it sucks.” Mac grumbled something about not caring about that, but he leaned against Jack and together they slowly made their way to the bathroom. Jack helped him inside but then left, leaning against the wall next to the door and waiting patiently for Mac. Once he emerged from the bathroom Jack led him back to the bed and kissed the top of his head once he was settled. “I’m gonna go and find out if you can eat somethin’, okay?”

Mac yawned and it was far more adorable than it should’ve been but he nodded, so Jack took that as a win. He left the room and headed for the nurses’ desk, discovering that Mac could basically eat whatever he wanted. He was about to head back to tell Mac the good news when his phone rang—it was Desi. “Dez? Did you find the briefcase?”

“I did,” Desi said, but there was a waver to her voice that made the hair on the back of Jack’s neck stand up. “I’m in the hospital parking lot—your boss told me where you were. You said this Mac guy was a bomb tech, right? Can you get him out here?”

“Don’t tell me that bastard not only bought a bomb, but also set a timer already,” Jack said quietly, praying to every deity he could think of for Desi to deny it.

“He did,” she replied, and Jack cursed under his breath. “Is he in a shape to disarm the bomb?”

Jack thought about Mac, sleepy and adorable, curled up in his bed, and for a second he was tempted to tell Desi to figure something out, but he couldn’t do that. “I don’t know,” he said. “But we’ll be there soon.”

~***~

Mac was on the verge of drifting off for a nap when Jack came back into the room. One glance at his face told Mac something was _very_ wrong, and he sat up without the aid of the bed even though it made the throbbing ache in his side flare up. “Jack? What is it?”

“Desi found the briefcase,” Jack replied, hand white-knuckled around his phone. “It’s a bomb, and it’s already set to detonate.”

Mac was moving as soon as he heard the word “bomb”, and he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He disconnected his IV but leaves the cannula in—he would want pain meds once this was over. “Call Matty, tell her they need to move all the patients as far from the parking lot as possible and evacuate them if they’re ambulatory—we don’t know what the radius of this thing is. Do I have anything I can wear besides this?”

Jack blinked at him before he shook his head a little and forcing himself to focus. “Yes, your dad brought a bag with some of your clothes,” Jack replied, gesturing at the bag in the corner that Mac hadn’t noticed before. “I already texted Matty, hopefully she’s doin’ her magic.” He grabbed the bag and set it on the bed next to Mac before looking at him worriedly. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

Mac flashed him a brief smile. “Not at all... but somebody’s gotta do it, right? Besides, your friend Desi doesn’t seem like the type to leave an armed bomb unattended, which means if I don’t do anything she’ll go kaboom too.”

He took off the hospital gown and put on a hoodie and some sweatpants, but Jack had to tie his sneakers before he could stand. He swayed a little once he was on his feet, and then he got steadied by Jack’s big hands draping his leather jacket over Mac’s shoulders. He put his arms through the sleeves and was immediately enveloped by the smell of gunpowder, leather and _Jack_. He took a few steps toward the door, but he quickly realized that there was no way for him to move quickly, the pain in his side intensifying with every step.

“I’m carrying you,” Jack suddenly said, stopping him from moving. “It’ll be faster.”

Before Mac could protest, Jack was crouched down in front of him, so he grudgingly climbed on to his back. With a grunt Jack stood up, Mac’s arms draped around his neck and his thighs supported by Jack’s hands. They snuck into a staff-only elevator to avoid being seen, and thankfully it was late enough that there weren’t many people around. When they got downstairs Jack’s phone rang, and Mac pulled it out of his back pocket and put it on speaker.

“Guys, we’re with Desi,” Riley said, and a second later Mac saw a flare gun go off in the distance—they were in the upper parking lot, not the lower one, which was good because it was further away from the hospital. “Jack, do I even want to know how you’re getting Mac to us?”

“No, you don’t,” Jack muttered, and Mac muffled a groan of pain when Jack started moving faster and it jostled him a little. “The question is, why are _you_ here? And what do you mean by ‘we’?”

“Jack’s right,” Mac added, tightening his arms around Jack’s neck. “It’s too dangerous. You all should leave.”

“That’s not gonna happen and you know it,” Matty told them, her tone stern. “Just because you two might have your little mutual death pact doesn’t mean we can’t join in.”

“Hopefully we can avoid fulfilling that prophecy,” James said wryly, before his voice went serious. “Son, I took a look over the bomb—it doesn’t seem too complex, but if it goes off the blast radius would be catastrophic. It’s hooked up to a large canister of nerve gas.”

“That’s just great,” Jack muttered, a little out of breath, his voice laced with sarcasm, and Mac couldn’t help but smile a little. “Nerve gas. Just what I need as a cherry on top of this wonderful day.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Mac told him, and then he squeezed Jack’s sides with his knees to cheer him up. “Now giddy-up, babe.”

The scathing look that Jack gave him out of the corner of his eye made Mac giggle and bury his face in Jack’s neck momentarily. Thankfully it didn’t take too long to reach the others, who were gathered around Desi’s rental car and looking at the briefcase, which was open on the trunk lid. Once Mac clambered down off Jack’s back and got a look at what’s inside, he blew out a long breath and said, “You should all leave. I mean it. If I fuck this up, there’s no reason the rest of you need to die.”

“No can do, baby, you know the drill. You go kaboom, I go kaboom,” Jack said, glancing at the bomb over Mac’s shoulder before turning to face the others. “But y’all should leave. There’s no point in—”

“How about you stop yapping, Dalton, and Mac stops wasting time trying to convince us to leave?” Matty interjected, and Mac actually snorted at that. “Come on, do your thing, Blondie.”

“I like the way you guys operate,” Desi commented, flashing them a grin. She looked a little nervous, but not as much as someone who’d never been around a bomb before. “You didn’t tell me they were this much fun, Jack.”

“We like to keep that a secret,” Mac muttered, looking down at the bomb.

The mess of wires and connectors and fuses began to sort itself out his head and he took his Swiss Army Knife from Jack when it was offered, going to work. No one said a word, so everything was completely quiet around him as he carefully looked over the bomb and slowly cut the wires, one by one. He felt Jack right next to him, probably ready to catch him if he collapsed or something, and Mac appreciated that. Finally it seemed like he was getting close to defusing the bomb once and for all, only a moment longer... and then when he cut one wire the bomb started beeping.

“Is that a bad sound?” Bozer asked. “Because it sounds like a bad sound.”

“I tripped the secondary,” Mac said, cursing himself internally. This wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t have morphine in his system. “That’s why the timer is running faster.” He looked around for more wires and finally found them... under the extremely delicate canister of nerve gas. “Jack, I need you to hold this up—do _not_ move once I have enough room to work.”

Jack stepped around him and leaned in closer, gently grasping the canister and slowly lifting it. “See, what would you have done if you were all alone, huh?” Jack asked, his voice just a little strained.

“Yes, you’re my savior,” Mac mumbled in response, focusing on the wires and getting back to work.

He needed to think faster and act faster because he lost precious time earlier, but if he moved _too_ fast... it wasn’t going to end well. He wound up ducking under one of Jack’s arms, the warmth of his body surrounding Mac as he continued to work. He snipped two more wires, and finally, mercifully, the timer beeped loudly and went blank. All of the tension drained out of Mac’s body, and if it wasn’t for Jack’s quick thinking he’d be on the pavement, but he caught Mac under the arms so he didn’t fall.

“Hey, hey, I got you,” Jack murmured, pulling Mac up and holding him tightly, shifting so that most of Mac’s weight was leaning on him.

Everybody seemed to breathe out in relief and a moment later Mac felt a pat on his shoulder—from his dad, he guessed, because a moment later James said, “Well done, Angus.”

Mac mumbled a thanks in response, but suddenly it felt like all of his strength left him and he was barely keeping his eyes open.

“Come on, let’s get you back inside,” Jack murmured, hefting Mac into his arms, careful not to jostle his wound.

But the idea of going back into the hospital turned his stomach, and Mac shook his head and cuddled closer to Jack. “Don’t want to... hotel?”

“I’ll see if I can get you discharged against medical advice,” James said, “but _only_ if you promise to take all your meds.”

“Fine,” Mac mumbled, knowing full well he sounded like a pouting five year old and not caring. “As long as I don’t have to go back.”

“You’ll probably have to sign something, so we have to go inside,” Jack murmured in his ear, and Mac knew he was right, so he reluctantly nodded. Jack started carrying him toward the entrance, the rest of the team following behind them. “Before I forget,” Jack started. “We should probably check out of our first hotel, our stuff is still there.”

“Already taken care of,” Matty replied. “Your things are all at our hotel.”

“Thanks, Matty,” Mac mumbled, and smiled when she took one of his dangling hands and held it.

James came into the lobby with a nurse, who took the cannula out of Mac’s hand and gave him a Band-Aid. She also made him sign a bunch of paperwork and gave him a bag full of pills, instructions, and his wallet and boots. Someone grabbed all of that from him—usually it would be Jack, but he kind of had his hands full, literally. Once Mac was free to leave Jack once again started carrying him and Mac closed his eyes, pushing his face into Jack’s neck and just... breathing in his smell. He didn’t fall asleep, but he wasn’t fully aware of everything—for example, he kind of missed the moment when they got into a car. It was a short ride, and then he was vaguely aware of getting moved again and riding in an elevator. Things got a little blurry after that, at least until Jack set him on a pillow-soft hotel bed.

Then he blinked his eyes open and grabbed Jack’s sleeve. “You’re staying, right?”

“Yes, of course,” Jack said softly, reaching out to brush the hair out of Mac’s eyes. “I’m just gonna lock the door, alright? We got our own room.”

Mac only hummed in response and let him go, forcing himself to keep his eyes open. A moment later he felt Jack take off his sneakers and then he gently took his own leather jacket off Mac, setting it on a chair. Then he undressed himself, leaving his underwear on and putting on a clean t-shirt before climbing into bed. Mac immediately shifted closer to him, basically crawling on top of him, but he was too exhausted to be embarrassed about it.

Jack chuckled a little and leaned down to take off Mac’s shoes before getting them both under the blankets. He reached for an orange bottle on the nightstand along with a bottle of water. “You want a pain pill?”

“Please,” Mac whispered, the wound to his side reminding him of its existence. He took the pill with the water before he snuggled up to Jack again, using his shoulder as a pillow. “I love you, Jack.”

“I love you too, Angus,” Jack murmured, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tightly. “You’re incredible.” Mac felt himself frown a little and he made a soft sound of protest because he didn’t think that about himself, but Jack just squeezed him gently, kissing the top of his head. “What you did today... it was amazing, baby.”

“What, getting stabbed?” When Mac glanced up Jack was glaring down at him, clearly not liking his attempt at humor. He shrugged, suddenly feeling small as a blush heated up his cheeks. “It was just defusing a bomb, Jack. I do it all the time. Granted, the stakes were pretty high... but aren’t they always?”

“They are, but you don’t usually defuse the bombs with a stab wound in your side and full of painkillers,” Jack pointed out, one hand slowly stroking Mac’s back up and down. “I know that you don’t consider yourself brilliant, but... you’re special, baby. The most special person I’ve ever met and I’m gonna tell you that every day.”

Mac nuzzled his face into Jack’s neck, sighing against his skin. He knew he was going to fall asleep soon whether he wanted to or not, and he kissed Jack’s jaw with the last bit of his strength. “That sounds nice,” he whispered. “Every day forever.”


End file.
